But without obligations it never becomes a community. Consumers enter a market place at will, exercise their preferences, and exit. But they are not responsible for managing the market place. They just use it. Citizens, on the other hand, are responsible for the governance of their community.
Every viable organization has to decide how to bound itself.
We manage organizational dilemmas by pushing responsibility down, facilitating collaboration and assuring accountability not rhetorically - but in how we meet, celebrate and act. In terms of our meetings, it will help if they are well managed, assure all voices are heard, and are conducted with clear and agreed upon decision rules. Our celebrations can manage the dilemmas in the ways we organize them, the kinds of symbols we draw upon, the manner in which we honor our successes and deal with our failures. And finally, the more our action draws on the resources of our members, engages them in working together, and are conducted in a spirit of learning and evaluation - the more our action will strengthen our organization as well.