Horizontalidad (flat structure)

Horizontalidad or 'flat structure' was a term coined in Argentina in the late 1990's. At the time, Argentina was going through a particularly difficult economic period, a crisis, where industry fell to 16% of GDP from 30% in 1975. Wages also fell by 20% between this period.

It was only until the middle class were effected by the crisis as well as subsequent bank closures, that the Argentian people formed a 'flat structure' in the way they did things.

They realized they could no longer rely on government to meet their fundamental needs so they gathered in neighborhoods to support each-other. Eventually these gatherings turned into local assemblies that participated in protests, created a barter economy, community gardens with food sharing, collective kitchens and other vehicles combating the problems of the time.

Workers took over factories too and ran them themselves while providing service to local communities. The reason I write about this movement that occurred in Argentina in the late 1990's is because I believe we can learn a lot from it.

It shows that the full participation of ordinary people through direct democracy and other participatory vehicles, can create a system that can cater to their direct needs.

I think much of the future economy will depend on the formulation of such a system. With the economic growth cycle in decline, we will need to figure out new ways of meeting our needs, and we can do this by forming local communities of scale.

Much of these local communities will need to be formed at grass roots level - where all new systems begin. Only once they've taken on a semblance of effectiveness at these lower levels can we begin to integrate them into higher and further reaching levels of society, such as government.

But I think the key could lie in using a flat structure when building new economies. This way we can integrate what works and refine what doesn't work. A flat structure allows for this playfulness in that the idea of right or wrong doesn't have such dire consequences. The focus gravitates more towards what is more or less useful according to our context and our needs in that context.