Rethinking community organising
The term “community organising” has become such a part of the modern political landscape on the left that it is easy to forget that it has a relatively recent history and a specific origin. Indeed, it has come to encompass all manner of movement-building and…
How radical municipalism can go beyond the local
While today’s crises require action on a big scale, fighting for local democracy is the best chance to address them. Given that capitalism works at scale, radical municipalism requires collaboration at higher level to be successful. Gatherings as the Fearless Cities Summit in New York…
Project Eject, the people’s assemblies, and the question of autonomy
Many people throughout the United States have been inspired by the gains of the social movements in Jackson over the past decade. And many have been extremely confused and disappointed by the apparent “internal” strife that has erupted within and between factions of the progressive…
Jackson rising: The struggle for economic democracy and black self-determination in Jackson, Mississippi
Mississippi is the poorest state in the U.S. with the highest percentage of Black people and a history of vicious racial terror. The concurrent Black resistance is the backdrop and context for the drama captured in the collection of essays that is Jackson Rising: The…
The new municipal movements
The municipalist movement in the US today is like a seedling. It is small and delicate, fresh and brimming with potential. Although we often look for leftist leadership in big cities like New York City or Chicago, these new municipal leaders are rooted in relatively…
Radical municipalism: The future we deserve
For many years the left has struggled with the question of how to bring our ideas, of equality, economic justice and human rights, to fruition. Murray Bookchin’s political trajectory is instructive for the argument that Debbie Bookchin makes in this article: that municipalism isn’t just…
Seattleites form neighborhood groups to resist Trump
Following Trump’s victory at the presidential election in 2017, all of Seattle district’s formed Neighborhood Action Councils to help guard against the President-elect’s agenda. Photo: SenuScape
America needs a network of rebel cities to stand up to Trump
America’s cities and local leaders have emerged as the institutional frontline of resistance against the Trump administration.However, cities can be more than just a last line of defense against the worst excesses of an authoritarian central government: they have huge, positive potential as spaces from…
Is America ready for a municipalist movement?
In the US, a new coalition of progressive forces is shaping up to protest views and policies deployed by president Trump. The articulation of forces against Trump. The municipal level is becoming a space for social resistance and political innovation, hence providing an opportunity for…