Fund for a New Center

Edward J. Dodson

[A proposal to establish a Center for the Advocacy of Cooperative Individualism and the Study of Political Economy (CACISPE)]


When I established the School of Cooperative Individualism back in 1997 as part of the virtual internet community, I conceived of this project as a first step in what I have realized would be a very long-term project -- namely, to attract a large number of thoughtful people to the principles of a unique socio-political philosophy blessed with a long, if largely ignored, history. Someday, I envision a sufficient critical mass of appreciation for and acceptance of these principles to strongly influence the revision of the socio-political arrangements and institutions of communities and societies.

Only when the laws of a community are consistent with the principles of cooperative individualism will justice prevail. Cooperative individualism secures and protects liberty for the individual while encouraging the highest degree of cooperative enterprise. To live in such a community with others committed to the same principles is a dream that will not be realized ... unless those of us who share the dream make it a reality.

There have been many, many efforts in the past to establish new communities based on idealistic -- often utopian -- principles. Nearly all have failed miserably or have drifted from the original design of the founders. The practical person must ask how this can be prevented, or at least greatly minimized. The answer, I suggest, is for the community to grow around a Center that engages in ongoing educational work, conducts research, publishes books and other material, holds seminars, conferences on all aspects of cooperative individualism and its application to every day life.

Such a Center must be an integral part of the community. People must want to come to live in this community because, in addition to the Center, the community offers the amenities that make life enjoyable, as well as fostering the personal relationships and interactions essential to a community of cooperative (and caring) individuals.

With this modest announcement, I take the first step in alerting visitors to the School that this project is on my mind and on my agenda for the future. I would like to hear from anyone who finds the prospect of building such a community attractive. To be sure, we would be creating a community within a community, subject to laws not consistent with the principles we espouse. When there is enough interest expressed, a search committee would be formed and charged with researching locations and recommending the best overall places to consider. We would then form a cooperative, issuing shares to raise the funds necessary to acquiring the property to house the Center and recruit the first generation staff.