Municipalist Movement For National Integrity
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Libertarian municipalism is a
political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...
that developed out of the writings of American
social theorist Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rel ...
and philosopher
Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...
. It advocates for establishing direct democratic systems within municipalities, such as towns and cities. It envisions these local communities as the foundation for an ecological society, where citizens actively manage social and economic affairs directly rather than relying on representatives. This approach encourages municipalities to join in confederations to collectively address larger regional issues, creating a network of interconnected communities focused on cooperation and mutual aid. Rooted in principles of direct democracy, decentralization, and
libertarian communalism Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...
, this system is intended to serve as an alternative to centralized nation-states and corporate capitalism. Bookchin argues that libertarian municipalism offers a pathway to address the ecological crisis by confronting the systems of domination embedded within current governance and resource distribution models. He contrasts this approach with past attempts to create a stateless society, critiquing traditional anarchism for its focus on non-political arenas like factories or cooperatives. In Bookchin's view, the municipality represents the ideal setting for building a true public sphere, revitalizing active citizenship, and strengthening community bonds. Ultimately, his concept of
social ecology Social ecology may refer to: * Social ecology (academic field), the study of relationships between people and their environment, often the interdependence of people, collectives and institutions * Social ecological model, frameworks for depicting ...
evolves into a coherent political theory emphasizing direct democracy, municipal organization, and a networked confederal system.


Overview


Municipalization as a foundation for an ecological society

Bookchin posits that neither privatization nor nationalization can effectively pave the way toward an ecological society. He asserts that both models are deeply embedded in structures of domination, failing to address the root causes of environmental crises. In contrast, Bookchin advocates for municipalization as a core principle in his libertarian municipalist framework.


Critique of privatization and nationalization

Bookchin critiques private property as a central driver of both social and ecological harm, associating it with exploitation, domination, and the prioritization of profit over community and environmental well-being. According to Bookchin, systems based on private ownership promote competition and individualism, which he argues are incompatible with the cooperation and solidarity needed to build a fair and sustainable society. Nationalization, often positioned as a remedy to capitalism's excesses, is also seen by Bookchin as inadequate. He contends that nationalization typically shifts control from private companies to centralized bureaucratic entities, merely replacing one form of dominance with another. In this state-centered model, the apparatus of the state, rather than the market, assumes authority over economic activities. This can lead to what Bookchin describes as a "privatized economy in a collectivized form," where workers remain detached from their labor and ecological exploitation persists.


History

During the French Revolution, controlled municipal governments and established alliances between neighboring cities, forming a federation of hundreds of "municipalist republics" in south France known as communalism. In
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the earliest forms of municipalism developed in the socialist parties. In 1881 the
Federation of the Socialist Workers of France The Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (, FTSF) was France's first socialist party, being founded in 1879. The party was characterised as possibilist because it promoted gradual reforms. Formation After the failure of the Paris Co ...
(a predecessor of the modern
French Socialist Party The Socialist Party ( , PS) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in France, political party in France. It holds Social democracy, social democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European v ...
) won control of the municipality of
Commentry Commentry (; Auvergnat: ''Comentriac'') is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins in the valley of the Œil. It is within 8 km of one of the geographic centres of France. The film actress ...
. In subsequent municipal elections, socialist candidates and parties increased the number of municipalities they controlled to 70 in 1892, and then over 100 in 1896. Meanwhile, in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, changes in electoral laws enabled the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...
to gain its first municipality,
Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...
, under the leadership of
Andrea Costa Andrea Costa (29 November 1851 – 19 January 1910) was an Italian socialist politician. Among the founders of the Italian socialist movement, he was the first socialist deputy in Italian history. Biography Andrea Costa was born on 29 November ...
.
Libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...
and social ecologist thinker
Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...
promoted what he called
libertarian municipalism Libertarian municipalism is a political theory that developed out of the writings of American social theorist and philosopher Murray Bookchin. It advocates for establishing direct democratic systems within municipalities, such as towns and cit ...
as the political branch of social ecology, focusing on the development of
direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without legislator, elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy m ...
within existing local governance structures. Bookchin argued that citizenship was a virtue that had become denatured by the dominance of late-stage capitalist nation states, and he viewed municipalism - particularly focused on popular, directly democratic assemblies as a form of municipal governance, as the key to reviving it:
Be they large or small, the initial assemblies and the movement that seeks to foster them in civic elections remain the only real school for citizenship that we have. There is no civic "curriculum" other than a living and creative political realm that can give rise to people who take management of public affairs seriously.
Bookchin has been one of the influences on a movement known as "new municipalism" in the twenty-first century, exemplified by
Barcelona en Comú Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipalism Municipalities Localism (politics) New Urbanism Political ideologies Political theories Social philosophy