Radical municipal politics in Latin America since the 1990s
Gianpaolo Baiocchi offers a historical overview of what he terms Radical Cities in Latin America and draws out some lessons from the past 30 years. Comparing these experiences to municipal politics in Europe and elsewhere, he highlights the distinctive features and charts the ups and…
Public housing and the right to the city
John Boughton’s book Municipal Dreams offers a robust and clearheaded rejoinder to academic and activist work that pivots around the slippery, less tangible notion of the right to the city. Drawing from the unequivocal celebration of the confident, progressive “spirit of ’45”—which delivered vast amounts…
People-powered local politics can save democracy from populism
In the current context of crisis created by the COVID-19 the importance of people-focused local politics has never been more vital. Across the world, social solidarity in the shape of mutual aid networks, food banks, online support groups, and even acts. Photo: Jeswin Thomas
The confederation as the commune of communes
Confederalism as a revolutionary strategy provides us with the means to build and organize a radically democratic and egalitarian society at scale. To understand how the confederation can form a real threat to the ruling class, one needs first to understand the strategy of social…
Building a solidarity economy in Jackson, Mississippi
Cooperation Jackson is only five years old, but the vision behind it is older. The original founders began to strategize to build a community of cooperatives in 2001, while many still lived in disparate parts of the country. Eventually, they chose to launch their participatory…
New municipalism reloaded?
A presentation on the origins of municipalism and the currencies that formed the movement. Photo: Michael L.
Libertarian municipalism & Murray Bookchin’s legacy
An interview with Debbie Bookchin to discuss how municipalist movements are implementing her father’s ideas and what the potential challenges are for libertarian municipalism. Photo: Pixabay
How woke is the left?
Is the left today “woke,” i.e. is it self-consciously learning from the limits of the path it has been on to design a new systemic architecture based on alternative, networked institutions to challenge the status quo? New institutions are needed because in the past farms,…
Municipalism: The next political revolution?
The way that reality is laid out for us at the moment it might seem a bit defeated and hopeless. Reviewing some of the accomplishments and origins of municipalism shines a light on what according to Murray Bookchin pointed out can be a way to…