Short form:
The General Service Conference of AA has
become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective
conscience of our whole Society in its world affairs.
Long form:
When, in 1955, the AA groups
confirmed the permanent charter for their General Service Conference, they
thereby delegated to the Conference complete authority for the active
maintenance of our world services and thereby made the Conference—excepting for
any change in the Twelve Traditions or in Article 12 of the Conference
Charter—the actual voice and the effective conscience for our whole Society.
What problems does Concept II solve?
·
Authority must be delegated for AA's work to be effective
and efficient—the groups cannot directly manage the telephone service,
literature production, etc.
·
The ultimate authority, expressed through group
conscience, is scattered amongst many groups; representation is necessary to
bring this together to make decisions.
·
Representative bodies (e.g. Conference) provide
the link between the groups and those exercising authority on their behalf, the
voice guiding the executive arms of AA.
Concept II ideas
·
Ultimate authority resides in the groups; this
authority is delegated to those who have immediate authority for the actual
work of AA.
·
Conference should be a representative
cross-section of the entire fellowship.
·
For services to be actively maintained, servants
need to be dedicated to the group conscience and disciplined in their work.
·
Conference itself cannot itself change the general
principles under which it operates—this authority always remains with the
groups.
·
This principle therefore applies to any representative
bodies in AA.
·
The principle of subsidiarity[1]
applies—we delegate immediate responsibility and authority to representatives
only where it must be delegated because the responsibility cannot be discharged
at group level.
·
This prevents excessive power from accumulating in
representatives—decisions continue to be made by the group as a whole wherever
practical (see Concept XII).
Concept II questions
·
When I am offered service, do I remember that AA
has no hands but mine?
·
Am I disciplined in my dedication to service?
·
When I take up service, do I remember my authority
is only immediate—that ultimate authority resides with the groups, and that I
remain forever accountable?
Quotations (from Bill W's essay)
'It is self-evident that the thousands of AA groups and the
many thousands of AA embers, scattered as they are all over the globe, cannot
of themselves actually manage and conduct our manifold world services. The
group conscience is out there among them, and so are the needed funds.'
'The power of the groups and members to alter their world
service structure and to criticize its operation is virtually supreme. They
have all of the final responsibility and authority that there is.'
'In order to get effective action, the groups must delegate
the actual operational authority to chosen service representatives who are
fully empowered to speak and to act for them.'
'The group conscience of AA could not be heard unless a
properly chosen Conference was fully trusted to speak for it respecting most
matters of world service.'
'The final say—the ultimate sanction in matters of large
importance—has not been given to the Trustees alone.'
[1]
The idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing
only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or
local level.