What purposes do the Twelve Concepts
for World Services serve?
Answer
"The Concepts to be discussed in the
following pages are primarily an
interpretation of AA's world service
structure. They spell out the traditional
practices and the Conference charter
principles that relate the component parts
of our world structure into a working whole.
Our Third Legacy manual is largely a
document of procedure. Up to now the Manual
tells us how to operate our service
structure. But there is considerable lack of
detailed information, which would tell us
why the structure has developed as it has
and why its working parts are related
together in the fashion that our Conference
and General Service Board charters provide.
"These Twelve Concepts therefore represent
an attempt to put on paper the why of our
service structure in such a fashion that the
highly valuable experience of the past and
the conclusions that we have drawn from it
cannot be lost.
"These Concepts are no attempt to freeze our
operation against needed change. They only
describe the present situation, the forces
and principles that have molded it. It is to
be remembered that in most respects the
Conference charter can be readily amended.
This interpretation of the past and present
can, however, have a high value for the
future. Every oncoming generation of service
workers will be eager to change and improve
our structure and operations. This is good.
No doubt change will be needed. Perhaps
unforeseen flaws will emerge. These will
have to be remedied.
But along with this very constructive
outlook, there will be bound to be still
another, a destructive one. We shall always
be tempted to throw out the baby with the
bathwater. We shall suffer the illusion that
change, any plausible change, will
necessarily represent progress. When so
animated, we may carelessly cast aside the
hard won lesions of early experience and so
fall back into many of the great errors of
the past.
Hence, a prime purpose of these Twelve
Concepts is to hold the experience and
lessons of the early days constantly before
us. This should reduce the chance of hasty
and unnecessary change. And if alterations
are made that happen to work out badly, then
it is hoped that these Twelve Concepts will
make a point of safe return." (GSC, 1960)
