In this thesis I argue that collective organizations with their goal of establishing egalitarian workplaces, inadvertently established self-organizing ones. An extensive review of the literature reveals the principles upon which collectives are based, and the successes and failures that they have experienced. By adopting a theoretical perspective based upon dissipative self-organization (Prigogine, 1979; Jantsch 1980), I am able to describe collectives as pioneering experiments in self-organizing workplaces. The degree of organizational freedom in collectives makes them models from which we can learn a great deal. I also argue that curtailing this freedom--in the steadfast clinging to job rotation and consensus decision making--weakens collectives and is one factor that prevents their widespread acceptance.