Parallel polis

Parallel polis is the idea, set out by the Czech dissident Václav Benda, that people living under an oppressive regime can build their own institutions alongside the official ones.

The basics

Benda wrote the essay "The Parallel Polis" (Paralelní polis) for the spokespersons and signatories of Charter 77. The English translation on The Anarchist Library dates it 17 May 1978. Wikipedia's article on Benda gives 1977 as the year he wrote it.

Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in Czechoslovakia. Its declaration was published on 6 January 1977 with 242 first signatories. It criticised the government for failing to implement its human rights commitments.

Benda proposed building parallel structures instead of only opposing the system or trying to reform it from within. The translation's foreword describes a "parallel polis" that would "exist alongside the official order". Benda wanted Charter 77 to move from a moral stance to a concrete, positive programme. He proposed parallel structures to supply missing functions, and using existing structures where possible to "humanize" them.

The essay works through areas where such structures could grow:

• a second culture, which Benda called "the most developed and most dynamic parallel structure"
• parallel education, which he called "a task of eminent importance"
• a parallel information system
• a parallel economy, founded on "a system of mutual guarantee"
• parallel political structures, including a parallel foreign policy

Benda was a mathematician with a doctorate in theoretical cybernetics (1975). After his academic career ended he worked as a computer programmer. He was arrested in May 1979, charged with subverting the state, and imprisoned until 1983.

The essay first circulated in samizdat in 1978. Benda returned to the idea in Social Research (1988). Paul Wilson's English translation appeared in Civic Freedom in Central Europe (1991) and again in The Long Night of the Watchman: Essays by Václav Benda, 1977-1989 (2018). Mark Qvist made a public domain translation.

How it applies to Logos

The Circles handbook's Parallel Society Playbook says "The creation of a parallel society is a form of non-violent civil resistance". It says the concept comes from Czechoslovakian dissidents living under a totalitarian regime, who called it the parallel polis. The playbook collects winnable issues that Circles have solved, so other Circles can adapt them. In its words, "Together, the issues we solve form the basis of a global parallel society."

The Logos website calls Logos "the private-by-default technology stack for parallel societies" and says "Logos is a movement building a parallel society." The Circles roadmap aims to position Logos as a "credible parallel institution".

The Circles issue buckets page names seven pillars of a parallel society: Economy, Security, Healthcare, Housing, Welfare, Infrastructure and Institutions.

Examples

• Charter 77's information network. Benda wrote that "Charter 77 managed to create a parallel information system that was functional and prompt."
• Benda's own essay, which circulated as samizdat in 1978. See Samizdat.
• Paralelní Polis in Prague. In 2014 a space inspired by the idea opened in Prague's Holešovice district. Wikipedia says its venues operate as cafés that accept only cryptocurrency. People inspired by it started a similar space in Bratislava.
• A Logos Circle example. The Circles handbook lists the Lisbon Circle's completed campaign for a community centre for young adults.

Add an example: edit this section.

See also

• Václav Benda
• Charter 77
• The Parallel Polis
• Issue 1/Parallel Society
• Samizdat
• Exit
• Winnable issue
• Circles
• Glossary

Takes on this idea

None yet. See Takes.

Sources

• Václav Benda, Parallel Polis (translated by Mark Qvist), The Anarchist Library, essay dated 17 May 1978
• Václav Benda, Wikipedia
• Charter 77, Wikipedia
• Parallel Polis, Wikipedia
• Parallel Society Playbook, Start a Circle
• Circles Civil Society Issue Buckets (Pilot), Start a Circle
• Roadmap for Logos Circles, Start a Circle
• Winnable Issues from Circles, Start a Circle
• Logos homepage, logos.co
• Movement, logos.co

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