Chapter 2: Order

The society begins to be established

 January 12, 2010

Dearest Comrade,

Nary two days and already I have enough news for you to fill many letters. I must write quick because the postman will be taking the mail today and due to an increase in chaos both inside and outside the Greater People's Commune he will likely not return for at least a week. The news we get, which is sparse and never reliable says that the protests that have been in Paris for so long have begun to shut down central areas and military authorities are moving in.

But, if the mail does get through, there is much you need to learn of our new Commune.

Those gentlemen I spoke of in my previous letter had found documents showing my notable education and political works published by Anarchist groups. We made the long walk to the parliament buildings through the roaring crowds. The men accompanying me told me that as the masses partied, a small group of revolutionaries who had been committed to this cause long before it gained force had been working on drafting a constitution for the Greater People's Commune. At that moment, I knew the revolution had failed. Our Anarchy, our glorious freedom was to be opened with a set of rules! I knew I would have to cry our "fie" upon their works!

Yet my horrors continued as I stepped upon the green carpet of the House of Commons. The room was just as the government left it but instead of bourgeoisie government officials, there were all manner of intellectuals, conspirators, terrorists and others bent on forming this constitution! But, in a great slap upon all that was free, there was a man in the speaker's seat.

I immediately recognized the man as George Walker Wright. A short man who looked at the world through small, round glasses with only a wire frame holding them on his face. He had a long face that looked as though an abusive parent stretched his head vertically from birth which he insisted on keeping clean shaven. Despite being a critic of the bourgeoisie, he insisted on taking their dress. Already he was dressed in a three piece suite that was entirely black with a large gold watch chain dangling across his vest. While he normally insisted on wearing a hat, he did not have one at this moment, revealing his terrible baldness. Not one hair came out of that sickly head. Deep wrinkles adorned his forehead to his neatly trimmed eyebrows. Indeed his appearance gave him the air of a man who was attending a funeral, probably the funeral of our revolution.

I took my seat in the back as most of the seats had been taken. Then George Walker Wright began to speak. I still remember the words he said with great clarity, "My fellow intellectuals. I have summed all manner of thinkers from the anarchist, socialist, communist and feminist movements for a momentous occasion, drafting our constitution. I know we have much to discuss, but first I would like you to take a look at what I have drafted. In each of your desks is a copy of the constitution, please read it and be back here by nine o'clock January 15th."

A man in the front stood up and called, "Fie!" as his beard flapped from his sudden rise. He put his right hand behind his back and cried, "An Anarchy has no rules! We can only be free if we take whatever constitution you have written and burn it! Explain your insanity!"

But Wright simply dismissed the individualist who had opposed him saying that he should read before he rejects. With that he got up and left. Before he left, the crowd had begun to murmur and many got up to leave, some crumpling the constitution into a ball and tossing it on the floor. Those who stayed behind began an array of shouting, each man and each woman having the "superior philosophy for running the Commune."

I soon left and retired into an office in the parliament building. where I read the constitution. I must say, as much as I despise the man and the idea of rules, he does create an effective argument for balancing order and freedom in wartime conditions. I have copied the constitution and included it in this letter. It is long and poorly written, but there may be a few interesting points.

But, other important occurrences have been happening. As I was with the philosophers hammering out theory, the unions declared the reopening of many factories across London. A spokesman on behalf of all unions told us on the radio that they are receiving resources upon request by other factories, mines, farms and resource centers that have syndicated or otherwise liberated themselves from the capitalist system. Even more, the unions have formed an economic system known as "The Combined Syndicates of Great Britain."

I hope you can appreciate the weight of this situation. We have an organized economy. The people, through the unions have seized the means of production and are now producing for the people upon request. There is no more money payment, only bold volunteers who, charged with the spirit of our situation and the momentum of history are undertaking the work needed to run our Commune! They say significant quantities of food will be made available in selected sites throughout the Greater People's Commune as early as January 14th and anybody can enter and take what they need! I would imagine significant supplies of food stocks have been liberated that will hopefully sustain us through the winter.

Clothing is to be available on the 16th and heating oil on the 17th. In the meantime, people are beginning to share on habitation to cut heating costs.

Yet we still have many problems to deal with. The schools remain effectively closed save for a few radicals who use the classrooms to preach ideology. At the same time, the hospitals are still not functioning and the sick grow by the day. Probably worst of all is that transportation has been virtually shut down! Nobody runs the subway, all cars have been stripped for all their value, their gas siphoned out and even if one did find an automobile, they wouldn't be able to drive it as the streets are filled with all manner of activity! The popular activity is still to use any battery powered stereo and dance in the streets.

One engineer managed to create a hand cranked generator and we used it to power a rather sophisticated stereo system to host a lovely dance in one street. I would tell you the name, but the street signs were mostly destroyed or stolen during the revolution. All the dancers took volunteers to crank the generator as we danced through the night, listening to just the loveliest jazz music. Who'd have thunk after all these years I can still jive?

I shall write again soon!

Your Comrade,

Peter Kropotsky

Constitution of the Greater People's Commune

Preamble:

In recognition of the efforts and sacrifice of many comrades in the struggle to remove the government of the few and with understanding of the theories of Anarchy, Communism, Socialism, Feminism and others, the First Council of Representatives of the Supreme Committee of the Greater People's Commune has drafted the following to act as the wartime constitution of our great Commune:

Section 1, Organization of the Communes Regional and Supreme Committee:

Article 1: Any group that reaches the requirements listed in Articles 2-5 to form their own commune will be given commune status without delay

Article 2: All communes must hold weekly meetings to decide the running of the nation. Which adhere to the principles of direct democracy for all members.

Article 3: All communes must have at least 500 members in a general area of cohesion.

Article 4: All communes must recognize the rights of the individual by ensuring freedom of travel, speech, assembly, association, religion, thought, life, necessities and leisure.

Article 5: All communes must send one member to the supreme council to partake in monthly meetings. The representative must be elected by popular vote from their commune.

Section 2, The passing of executive decisions

Article 1: Any member of the Greater People's Commune may propose a motion through their representative to the Supreme Committee.

Article 2: Representatives must forward all motions to the Supreme Committee without exception. Failure to do so will result in the representative's immediate removal from position.

Article 3: All motions will be made known to all citizens who will vote on them during their weekly commune meetings. The representatives will then report the number of votes for each side to the Supreme Committee.

Article 4: All motions will be decided by majority vote as by the process set fourth in Article 3.

Article 5: All meetings will be recorded and broadcast on radio in the spirit of honesty and transparency.

Section 3, Emergency Situations

Article 1: In case of emergency situation, the Supreme Council can pass motions with a simple majority of present members.

Article 2: Any motion passed must still be passed forward to the communes to be voted upon in the manner set fourth in Article 3 of Section 2.

Article 3: If the emergency motion fails to achieve majority approval, it will be eliminated at the earliest possible council meeting.

Section 4, Constitutional Changes

Article 1: Any motion to change the constitution requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

Reviews

[Robert]

Very good. I like how you're broadening and detailing the world and the constitution is very realistic. Its a good addition.