If you could change anything, what would what it be? Would you go on vacation for the rest of your life? Make fossil fuels stop causing climate change? Ask for ethical banks and politicians? In a world with a growing number of crises, surely nothing could be more unrealistic than to keep everything the way it is and expect different results. Our private financial and emotional struggles mirror global upheaval and disaster. We could spend the rest of our days trying to douse these fires one by one, but they stem from the same source. No piecemeal solution will serve; we need to rethink everything according to a different logic.

This multi-media presentation examines the concept and application of mutual aid through stories of revolt, sacrifice and cooperation. We look at historical examples of mutual aid in action, it’s role and influence within social struggles in the Trump era, and discuss approaches that apply these methods in our own communities to solve problems directly—assessing the prospects of contemporary struggles for self-determination in an period of globalized capitalism and increasing state control. 

There’s no way to freedom but through freedom. Rather than a single bottleneck for all agency, we need a wide range of venues in which to exercise power. In place of the coercion inherent in government, we need decision-making structures that promote autonomy, practices of mutual aid and collective power. Together, we have the power to change everything. 

There will be a Q&A after the presentation, and a host of free literature available.