| Chapter 1: | A Meeting Observed |
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His aim in writing the Twelve Traditions was to ensure (a) the survival of the particular nature of AA’s ‘fellowship’, (b) AA’s sense of being coherent but devoid of hierarchy, and (c) groups exist that are autonomous but share a consistent set of principles and beliefs, allowing maximum scope for the individuality but retaining community and a shared identity. Despite the fact that 60 years have passed since the Twelve Traditions were written and considerable growth has occurred in both the United States and internationally, AA’s organisational principles are still intact and serve their original purpose. This testifies to the principles’ success, particularly as they were not based on an existing model, being largely formulated from experience and a clear sense of purpose.
As a social organisation, AA is neither a religion nor a social or political movement; nor is it concerned with its members’ professional or financial security. Its primary activity is to conduct meetings in which all participants can participate on equal terms. In order that such equality can be displayed, each member must have the same rights of participation and have access to the same speaking rights as all other members in a process of mutual support. As an organisation, there is no real differentiation between members, though certain ‘service’ jobs are rotated among members. In this, it is unlike any social movement that preceded it, and it is part of AA folklore that Aldous Huxley, who was a friend of Bill Wilson, called him ‘the greatest social architect of the century’.
The autonomy of each cellular group, the absence of hierarchy, and the locating of authority in the periphery rather than at the centre mean that AA has the characteristics of an anarchic organisation. Its mission is confined exclusively to its members who shed their social, professional, and family identities during meetings by declaring their overriding identity as alcoholics. AA’s organisational structure is designed exclusively so that members may interact with each other with equality.