A co-operative network based in Jackson, Mississippi, has launched an online series aiming to educate the public on how to build a post-capitalist future from local community level.
Cooperation Jackson says the Build and Fight Formula “is both an argument and a proposed methodology on how to build eco-socialism from below, meaning through the self-organised activities and institutions of the working class and oppressed people”.
Cooperation Jackson was founded in 2014 with the aim of building a solidarity economy in Jackson, anchored by a network of co-operatives and worker-owned, democratically self-managed enterprises.
Its key institution is the Fannie Lou Hamer Community Land Trust, which stewards over 45 properties in West Jackson. Other Cooperation Jackson projects include an urban farm co-op, a lawn care co-op and a co-operative community production centre, as well as various cultural and educational events.
The Build and Fight Formula series launched with an introductory session last week. Cooperation Jackson’s Kali Akuno spoke with journalist Thandisizwe Chimurenga, arguing that global social and political upheaval of recent decades means that now “more space is actually open for us to experiment with”.
Akuno highlighted the health, social and economic measures taken by the US government during the pandemic to illustrate how radical action can be taken when there is sufficient political will.
“It demonstrated that change can happen in a profound way, and it can happen quickly”, he said.
Akuno was also keen to point out that the Build and Fight Formula is about organising and building “for revolution, not reform or crisis avoidance”, by rejecting all forms of hierarchy and domination.
In order to achieve this aim, Akuno stressed a need to end the “deficit mindset” and instead focus on the work already taking place in communities.
Related: Cooperation Jackson fights for a solution to the US city’s water crisis
“We are constantly in this notion that we do not have enough forces, we do not have enough people, and if you mean enough people who are clearly in line with our particular politics, program or worldview, you are absolutely correct.
“However, if you look at what people are engaged in that has the potential of transforming social relationships in a non capitalist way, we see that there are millions of people, just in the United States alone, but even more outside, who are engaged in practices that, if sufficiently coordinated, could lead to a radical transformation.”
Taking food as an example, Akuno explained that Cooperation Jackson is currently working towards a scale of community farming that would reach around 25,000 people, but in order to meet the needs of the whole of Jackson, coordination with other initiatives would be needed.
Akuno also highlighted the interrelated nature of issues such as food, which intersects with a range of other areas including land decommodification and the collective stewardship of land.
“These practices have to be coordinated in conjunction with each other, otherwise they’re just kind of isolated endeavours.”
The Build and Fight Formula series seeks to bring these different issues, theories and practices together, sharing perspectives from Cooperation Jackson and a range of guests. Sessions will run on the second Tuesday of the month for the rest of the year, covering the following topics:
Practices of position:
- Mutual aid & social reproduction
- Food sovereignty & land decommodification
- Worker self-organisation
- Community production
- Social digital infrastructure
- Self-defence
- People’s assemblies & planning councils
Practices of maneuver:
- General strike
- Democratise the economy
- Dual power & free the land
Sessions are being livestreamed and can be watched back on Cooperation Jackson’s youtube channel, Jackson Rising. Livestreams will take place at 7pm Eastern Standard Time.
