Tradition 1

Short form

Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity.

Long form

Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. AA must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward.

Excerpt from the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions

12-Traditions-Tradition-1.mp3

The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has. Our lives, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon it. We stay whole, or A.A. dies. Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; our world arteries would no longer carry the life-giving grace of God; His gift to us would be spent aimlessly. Back again in their caves, alcoholics would reproach us and say, “What a great thing A.A. might have been!”

“Does this mean,” some will anxiously ask, “that in A.A. the individual doesn't count for much? Is he to be dominated by his group and swallowed up in it?”

We may certainly answer this question with a loud “No!” We believe there isn't a fellowship on earth which lavishes more devoted care upon its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual's right to think, talk, and act as he wishes. No A.A. can compel another to do anything; nobody can be punished or expelled. Our Twelve Steps to recovery are suggestions; the Twelve Traditions which guarantee A.A.'s unity contain not a single “Don't.” They repeatedly say “We ought . . .”but never “You must!”

To many minds all this liberty for the individual spells sheer anarchy. Every newcomer, every friend who looks at A.A. for the first time is greatly puzzled. They see liberty verging on license, yet they recognize at once that A.A. has an irresistible strength of purpose and action. “How,” they ask, “can such a crowd of anarchists function at all? How can they possibly place their common welfare first? What in Heaven's name holds them together?”

Those who look closely soon have the key to this strange paradox. The A.A. member has to conform to the principles of recovery. His life actually depends upon obedience to spiritual principles. If he deviates too far, the penalty is sure and swift; he sickens and dies. At first he goes along because he must, but later he discovers a way of life he really wants to live. Moreover, he finds he cannot keep this priceless gift unless he gives it away. Neither he nor anybody else can survive unless he carries the A.A. message. The moment this Twelfth Step work forms a group, another discovery is made— that most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group. Realization dawns that he is but a small part of a great whole; that no personal sacrifice is too great for preservation of the Fellowship. He learns that the clamor of desires and ambitions within him must be silenced whenever these could damage the group. It becomes plain that the group must survive or the individual will not.

So at the outset, how best to live and work together as groups became the prime question. In the world about us we saw personalities destroying whole peoples. The struggle for wealth, power, and prestige was tearing humanity apart as never before. If strong people were stalemated in the search for peace and harmony, what was to become of our erratic band of alcoholics? As we had once struggled and prayed for individual recovery, just so earnestly did we commence to quest for the principles through which A.A. itself might survive. On anvils of experience, the structure of our Society was hammered out.

Countless times, in as many cities and hamlets, we reenacted the story of Eddie Rickenbacker and his courageous company when their plane crashed in the Pacific. Like us, they had suddenly found themselves saved from death, but still floating upon a perilous sea. How well they saw that their common welfare came first. None might become selfish of water or bread. Each needed to consider the others, and in abiding faith they knew they must find their real strength. And this they did find, in measure to transcend all the defects of their frail craft, every test of uncertainty, pain, fear, and despair, and even the death of one.

Thus has it been with A.A. By faith and by works we have been able to build upon the lessons of an incredible experience. They live today in the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which— God willing— shall sustain us in unity for so long as He may need us.

Excerpt from The Twelve Traditions Illustrated

Please click the link below to open the pamphlet The Twelve Traditions Illustrated and read Tradition One or read the image below.

Tradition 1 Illustrated

Our brother the noisy drunk affords the simplest illustration of this Tradition. If he insists on disrupting the meeting, we "invite" him to leave, and we bring him back when he's in better shape to hear the message. We are putting the "common welfare" first. But it is his welfare, too; if he's ever going to get sober, the group must go on functioning, ready for him.

Yet he is only one rare aspect of the problem. When we do get sober in AA, we shed a few small bits of the Big Ego: We admit, "I can't handle alcohol, and I can't stay away from it on my own." Fine so far! Then we find there is plenty of that Ego still with us. It may lead us to take other members' inventories and to gossip about their supposed shortcomings. It may lure us into hogging the floor at every discussion meeting.

Oh well, it's a selfish program, isn't it? After all the miseries of active alcoholism, why shouldn't we indulge ourselves a little? We all know one good reason why we shouldn't: Self-indulgence of this kind is an immediate personal danger; it threatens the individual's own sobriety. More than that, it threatens the very basis of our sobriety–the unity of AA group. For a self-righteous gossip can damage the mutual trust that is vital to every group. And a compulsive talker can ruin the effectiveness of a discussion meeting–"I've stopped going to that group. Nobody but Joe can get a word in edgewise."


When AA was very young, the first members clearly sat the preservation of its unity as a life-or-death matter for themselves and for the alcoholics still unrecovered. The First Tradition states this aim, and it is the common aim of all the Twelve Traditions. When AA reached the age of 35, the aim was restated in the theme of the 1970 International Convention:

This we owe to AA's future:
 To place our common welfare first;
 To keep our fellowship united.
 For on AA unity depend our lives,
 And the lives of those to come.

Each of the other eleven Traditions explains one specific way to protect the unity of the Fellowship and the AA group. Those early members quickly recognized power-drivers as potential group-wreckers. And they're still around–the members who are always sure that they're always right–the members who are happily ready to assume all the burdens of leadership and grimly unwilling to share them, let alone give them up. But a group does need officers. How can we cope with this dilemma? Tradition Two provides the answer...

Tradition One Discussion Questions

Thoughts on Tradition One

This first tradition acts as a bookend to the rest of the traditions and tells us why we have them – unity. In many ways, the later traditions describe specific ways to protect our unity. 

Interestingly it highlights a common misconception found in many AA groups that the individual is most important in the fellowship. This tradition makes clear that it is the group as one that matters most. After all, without the group, where would the individual go for help? Without the group we are all lost. So it is the unity of the AA group that matters most.

This tradition gives us a principle to work to rather than a rule. Simply instructing members with directions on behaviour simply won't work. As is often said, AA's don't do rules. But by working towards a principle we can find our way without enforcing rules on one another.

This tradition makes clear that we cannot let a single individual bring down a whole group. We can think about those who engage in predatory or aggressive behaviour or makes attempts to dominate or control the group. A question often raised at this point is whether or not we can ask a person to leave a meeting. The answer to this is an emphatic yes, if they are damaging the unity of the group. However, the final discipline comes from God and not the group. After all, failure to respect the unity of the group will likely lead the individual into resentment and possible relapse. We are each a part of a great whole, so there is no room for the big shot or egotist. 

This tradition is often used as justification for raising the issue of irritating behaviour at group meetings. This can include excessive swearing, sharing for too long or interrupting speakers. After all, if people are put off going to a group because of one individuals inconsiderate behaviour, the group has a responsibility to act, albeit with love and compassion.

At the 1970 international AA convention the statement of unity was read and taken as the theme.

This we owe to A.A.'s future:
To place our common welfare first;
To keep our Fellowship united.
For on A.A. unity depend our lives,
And the lives of those to come.

It is worth highlighting that unity does not mean unanimity. Disagreements are highly probable within a group. It would be impossible for everyone to agree on everything all the time. So Concept 12 comes to the rescue with a principle we can all adopt at all service levels, that of 'substantial unanimity'. This is defined in the The A.A. Service Manual combine with Twelve Concepts for World Service as follows:

Substantial unanimity typically means a two-thirds (or more) majority. In some situations, this might even be a three-fourths (or more) majority. This standard is typically employed for issues that are controversial or complex and for the elections of some positions in general service. This can help to promote unity in the area body. Simple majority is typically defined as one-half of the body plus one. This standard is generally employed for simple or routine matters.

Although not conference approved literature, below is a useful quote taken from the non-AA publication 24 Hours a Day.

If we feel the need of saying something to put another member on the right track, we should try to say it with understanding and sympathy, not with a critical attitude. We should keep everything out in the open and aboveboard. The AA program is wonderful, but we must really follow it. We must all pull together, or we’ll all be sunk. We enjoy the privilege of being associated with AA, and we are entitled to all its benefits. But gossip and criticism are not tolerance, and tolerance is an AA principle that is absolutely necessary to group unity. Am I truly tolerant of all my group’s members?

It is also worth highlighting the warranties of Concept 12 which also refer to 'substantial unanimity'.

General Warranties of the Conference: in all its proceedings, the General Service Conference shall observe the spirit of the A.A. Tradition, taking great care that the Conference never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, be its prudent financial principle; that none of the Conference Members shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority over any of the others; that all important decisions be reached by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that no Conference action ever be personally punitive or an incitement to public controversy; that, though the Conference may act for the service of Alcoholics Anonymous, it shall never perform any acts of government; and that, like the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous which it serves, the Conference itself will always remain democratic in thought and action.