The principle of democracy practiced in the Federation does not rest upon the divine right of the collective to impose its arbitrary will upon the individual, but rather on the ultimate freedom of the individual in personal matters and the rule of all in matters of collective concern.
The primary structural principles of the Federation are federalism, Indusrealism, bottom-up rule, consensus based decision-making, and free association or 'the right of secession.'
Federalism
The Federation is ruled from the bottom up by the people who make up the productive associations and communes which in turn make up Ecoregions and Industries which are united under the Federation. The constituant organizations send their elected delegates to the Federal bodies.
Industrialism
Associations working in the same industrial line of production form Industrial Syndicates within the Federation. Immediatly interdependant productive associations are structurally organized for particlarly close and streamlined cooperation within each Syndicate. All Syndicates also cooperate closely with oneanother and many productive associations (especially those involved in the procurement and processing of raw materials) are active in several Syndicates at once. The lines differentiating the Syndicates are never straight or clear- the Syndical structure is an organic one based only on expediancy, egaliterianism and free association. The Transportation Communication and Distribution Workers' Union is a particularly extreme case. A long heated and pedantic scholarly debate at Port Bakunin University about whether the TCDU is indeed a Syndicate, or just a byproduct of the constant stream of associations between Syndicates was laid to rest by an exclamation made by a bewildered first-year student: "But that's the same damned thing!"
Bottom-up Rule
The delegates may be recalled at any time and are only empowered to relay the decisions made by their constituencies to the Federal convention. All resolutions made within a body of elected delegates are sent directly to the various constituancies for final approval.
Consensus-Based Decision Making
All decesions on all levels of the Federation- from the election of a delegate to the aproval of a production plan- are made by concensus.
Free Assoiciation and the Right of Secession
All bodies- from a Sunday pear-picking collective in Freetown to the Federation itself- are formed by the free association of individuals and communities. No association is bound by anything but the wills and necessities of the individuals that comprise it. All of these associations are free and natural and are thus stronger and more productive than any externally imposed superstructure can ever be.
