Symbiotic Democracy - System Design

In Symbiotic Democracy, there are multiple layers that work together like an ecosystem — each with its own scope, governance, and purpose, but all interoperating through shared protocols.

Think of it as nested circles, from the most local and specific to the most global and shared.

1. Individual Layer – The Person as a Contributor

  • Role: Every person is both a learner and a contributor.

  • Assets: Skills, knowledge, lived experience, creativity, labor, relationships.

  • Connection to the System:

    • Participates in one or more communities.

    • Earns contribution records in the ledger.

    • Can delegate or exercise voting rights directly.

  • Tools:

    • Personal profile linked to contribution history.

    • AI learning/contribution assistant.

2. Micro-Community Layer – Small Groups / Local Chapters

  • Size: Typically 10–150 people (close enough for trust to form).

  • Examples:

    • A local cycling club.

    • A neighborhood garden group.

    • A town’s renewable energy coop.

  • Role:

    • Execute local projects.

    • Organize events, training, and resource sharing.

    • Pilot innovations before scaling up.

  • Governance: Lightweight charters, rotating stewards, quick decision cycles.

3. Community Layer – Thematic or Sector Groups

  • Scope: Single interest or industry domain.

  • Examples:

    • “Road Cycling” community within Sports.

    • “Urban Farming” within Agriculture.

    • “Open-Source AI Safety” within Technology.

  • Role:

    • Maintain knowledge commons for their domain.

    • Negotiate with brands/partners relevant to the field.

    • Manage shared treasuries and project boards.

  • Governance:

    • More formal proposals and votes.

    • Contribution-weighted influence.

4. Federation Layer – Interconnected Communities

  • Scope: Related communities within a sector or geographic area join forces.

  • Examples:

    • Sports Federation (Cycling, Running, Swimming, Climbing).

    • Renewable Energy Federation (Solar, Wind, Hydro).

  • Role:

    • Coordinate standards and protocols.

    • Share resources across communities.

    • Run cross-community initiatives (events, R&D, lobbying).

  • Governance: Delegates from member communities, elected or rotated.

5. Domain Layer – Main Ecosystem Domains

  • Scope: Very broad categories of human activity.

  • Examples:

    • Sports

    • Health & Wellness

    • Technology & Innovation

    • Arts & Culture

    • Food & Agriculture

    • Education & Knowledge

  • Role:

    • Maintain overarching information architecture & schema for sub-communities.

    • Oversee federated data commons for the domain.

    • Negotiate domain-wide brand partnerships or treaties.

6. National Layer – Country-Level Coordination

  • Role:

    • Provide legal frameworks for communities and federations.

    • Maintain national registries for communities and sub-communities.

    • Oversee funding mechanisms (e.g., matching grants, procurement contracts).

    • Ensure standards for interoperability, safety, and fair governance.

  • Governance: Elected assembly + representative council from federations.

7. Global Commons Layer – Planetary Coordination

  • Scope: The shared resources and systems that transcend national borders.

  • Examples:

    • Climate data commons.

    • Global education commons.

    • Open-source health research.

  • Role:

    • Manage large-scale challenges that require global cooperation.

    • Maintain universal interoperability protocols (like the “internet layer” of communities).

    • Protect the commons against enclosure or exploitation.

  • Governance: Multi-stakeholder councils with delegates from national and domain layers, plus civil society and science bodies.

8. Protocol Layer – Invisible but Critical Glue

  • **Not a geographic or thematic layer — a technical and legal foundation that runs across all others.

  • Includes:

    • Information Architecture for communities/sub-communities.

    • Schema and metadata standards for LLM/SLM integration.

    • Contribution ledger protocols.

    • Governance interoperability rules.

    • Consent and licensing frameworks for data sharing.

  • Purpose: Make the entire system searchable, navigable, and trustworthy for humans and AI.

In Short

Symbiotic Democracy has nested, interoperable layers:

  1. Individual – You and your contributions.

  2. Micro-Community – Small, local, high-trust groups.

  3. Community – Domain-specific or interest-based groups.

  4. Federation – Interconnected communities within a sector or region.

  5. Domain – Main category of human activity.

  6. National – Country-level legal and infrastructure support.

  7. Global Commons – Shared planetary systems and resources.

  8. Protocol – The standard architecture binding everything together.

Symbiotic DemocracyFrancesca Tabor