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Mutual aid : building solidarity during this crisis (and the next) / Dean Spade.

by Spade, Dean, 1977- author.

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London ; New York : Verso, 2020.

Social justice.

Organizational change.

Cooperativeness.

Income distribution.

Race relations.

Social change -- Environmental aspects.

Social change -- Psychological aspects.

Political science.

Racial justice.

9781839762123 (paperback) :

1839762128 (paperback)

vi, 152 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm.

Introduction : Crisis conditions require bold tactics -- Part I. What Is Mutual Aid? 1. Three key elements of mutual aid. One. Mutual aid projects work to meet survival needs and build shared understanding about why people do not have what they need ; Two. Mutual aid projects mobilize people, expand solidarity, and build movements ; Three. Mutual aid projects are participatory, solving problems through collective action rather than waiting for saviors -- 2. Solidarity not charity! -- 3. We get more when we demand more -- Part II. Working Together On Purpose. 4. Some dangers and pitfalls of mutual aid. Deservingness hierarchies ; Saviorism and paternalism ; Co-optation ; Characteristics of mutual aid vs. charity -- 5. No masters, no flakes. Group culture ; Making decisions together ; Leadership qualities that support mutuality and collaboration ; Handling money ; Burnout ; Conflict ; Working with joy ; Perfectionism ; Mad mapping -- Conclusion : Everything is at stake and we're fighting to win -- Resource list.

"Mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world. Around the globe, people are faced with a spiraling succession of crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change-induced fires, floods, and storms to the ongoing horrors of mass incarceration, racist policing, brutal immigration enforcement, endemic gender violence, and severe wealth inequality. As governments fail to respond to - or actively engineer - each crisis, ordinary people are finding bold and innovative ways to share resources and support the vulnerable. Survival work, when done alongside social movement demands for transformative change, is called mutual aid. This book is about mutual aid : why it is so important, what it looks like, and how to do it. It provides a grassroots theory of mutual aid, describes how mutual aid is a crucial part of powerful movements for social justice, and offers concrete tools for organizing, such as how to work in groups, how to foster a collective decision-making process, how to prevent and address conflict, and how to deal with burnout. Writing for those new to activism as well as those who have been in social movements for a long time, Dean Spade draws on years of organizing to offer a radical vision of community mobilization, social transformation, compassionate activism, and solidarity."--taken from front cover flap.

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