1.4 Foundations: Building Dual Power

 

In which we are Radical Recreation, the podcast about DIYing a better world by fleshing out the nitty gritty of the project that is utopia.

Editing by Colin (@thrift.icarus Instagram)

Links/Shownotes:

-https://theecologist.org/2018/apr/23/how-build-new-world-shell-old

-https://www.instagram.com/dual.power.gathering/

-https://iaf-fai.org/2021/05/31/building-international-solidarity-human-relations-for-global-struggle/

 

-Brief explanation/overview of the topic:

- Loose Thesis: Building on last episode’s discussion of white supremacy culture and liberalism pervading our lives, we’ll now direct our attention briefly to the ways this limits our ability as leftists to be effective at organizing our communities and then mostly discuss tangible things to do instead

 

Notes before beginning- we’ll try to get through this part fairly quickly to avoid getting sucked into the suck

• Doctrine derived from praxis- clinging to abstract intellectualizing does perpetuate white supremacy culture

• You don’t have to know the theory- you just have to care a lot.  Credit Dr. Aeysha Khan (@wokescientist on IG)

• Theory is scaffolding that can fall away when real building begins

• Praxis is particular (experiential- political, somatic, spiritual, and ethical dimensions) and universal (programmatic-sharing what worked in the past and what didn’t)

• Praxis is the sharpened image of doctrinal “isms” like socialism and anarchism

• Praxis is made up of Strategies and Tactics

 

Issues we see stemming from Whiteness and Liberalism - what are the strategies and tactics of white liberalism and why don’t they get us anywhere but burned out, helpless, depressed, and divided?

• Ex-fash debate bro mentality AND liberal “wokeism”

• Grossness of Entryism and Numbers-based movement building (electoralism-only, Pelosi fundraising emails)

• Lack of intersectionality

•  The Nexus: a synthesis of identitarianism, social media, and cancel culture (courtesy of FC)

• Gatekeeping in lefty spaces that privileges white voices

 

ALTERNATIVE (Effective/Revolutionary) STRATEGIES:

+Emergent Strategy by amb-derived Ideas: 

• Small is good, small is all. (The large is a reflection of the small.)

• Change is constant. (Be like water.)

• There is always enough time for the right work.

• There is a conversation in the room that only these people at this moment can have. Find it.

• Never a failure, always a lesson.

• Trust the People. (If you trust the people, they become trustworthy.)

• Move at the speed of trust. Focus on critical connections more than critical mass — build the resilience by building the relationships.

• Less prep, more presence.

• What you pay attention to grows.

• “As [Black literary giant and activist] Toni Cade Bambara has taught us, we must make just and liberated futures irresistible”- amb

• “We organize society, not subcultures!”-People’s Council of Texas

ALTERNATIVE (Effective/Revolutionary) TACTICS:

dual.power

“Dual power is comprised of two component parts: (1.) building counter-institutions that serve as alternatives to the institutions currently governing production, investment, and social life under capitalism, and (2.) organizing through and confederating these institutions to build up a base of grassroots counter-power which can eventually challenge the existing power of capitalists and the State head-on.”

How to build a new world in the shell of the old

Dual Power Components from Black Socialists in America:

[We]need to get together with others in your workplaces or industries who share the same disgust for the system, and work with them to build democratic/cooperative alternatives to what it is that you do. The idea is to then federate these efforts with similar efforts in your immediate community and neighboring communities, bonded by shared principles and a shared vision for the future largely rooted in the idea of expanding on workplace and community democracy for everyone.

If we are able to get things in order from an economic standpoint, we’ll be able to produce new values, new cultures, and even new political power that – in addition to being tied to new self-governance models – can actually contest the powers that be within government.

What is key in all of this is that surplus be consistently allocated to those most in need, namely those in poor and working-class Black communities, and for the same kind of economic development. And in addition to this, surplus must be allocated to new political infrastructure. This is why politics are so important. Co-ops, credit unions, community land trusts, and more sprouting up willy-nilly are not going to get us out of Capitalism, white supremacy, or any other systems of domination. We need to develop these kinds of institutions politically.

In fact, any of the institutions mentioned above that are developed without the Left politics, strategy, or vision will be co-opted, absorbed, or destroyed by Capitalism. It has happened before in different global contexts throughout history, and it can 100% happen again.

And not only do we need to develop these kinds of institutions politically, but we also need the development of these institutions to be powered by real social movements in order to meet the challenges of this deepening crisis in a timely manner (we do not have a lot of time). People not only need to be introduced to democratic models of organization, and provided with more streamlined voting mechanisms, but they also need a means of building with others safely, and avoiding isolation in efforts. There is also the challenge of getting people offline.

 

• Solidarity Economics/Work Abolition

• Housing- Intentional communities/housing cooperatives and Community Land Trusts/Houseless unions, Tenant unions and Squats

• Work- Rank and file/Solidarity unions/labor councils, reforms for decreased work-week, Solidarity economy organizations/Workers centers, The General Strike

• Food Sovereignty/Landback- Community Gardens, Autonomous Indigenous Communities, Community fridges, wildlife education, bottom-up sustainable energy conversion initiatives, solarpunk solutions, Environmental Direct Action/Water Protector networks

 

• Collective Autonomy

• Neighborhood Associations and confederations

• Dunbar's number-Healthy neighborhood pods really require us to build up a lot of trust, so that's what a lot of this work is going to be. But pods create the space for people to be able to rely on their immediate community rather outsourcing problems to separate entities, point people

 

• National Electoral Reform- electoral college abolition, ranked choice voting

• Social Media alternatives- Mastodon, Dual Power app, Hexbear

• Accessible popular assemblies- Subdivided assemblies for checks and balances and privileging the voices marginalized communities

• Municipal Electoralism

• All-ages democratic free education, Childcare collectives, Children’s councils

• Internationalism and programs for the promotion of multilingualism

 

• Self-Defense Networks

• Health Clinics, decolonized healing spaces, Street Medics and harm reduction collectives

• Abolition/TJ/Prisoner support orgs

• Immigrant Sanctuaries/Support, community safe spaces

• (These) Really Really Free Markets, library socialism, Mutual Aid, Care pods

• Community defense networks, copwatch, antifascism/open source journalism
  

How do you put this into practice:

-Small step: Take time to get your head out of the books and get in tune with your lived experience.

-Medium jump: Be mindful of your intentions when engaging in discourse and activism.

-Enormous Leap: Rally around people and organize in ways that embrace community and love, not intellectual righteousness 

 

Plugs for the end:

 

Outro:

• Mini land acknowledgement

Episode art by Jules.

Jules: @open_eyes_comics, @xiantifa

Find us at: https://www.instagram.com/rad.rec.pod/