Anarchy & the Rise of Mutual Aid — with Cindy Milstein
“We turn to each other and say: ‘How can we care for each other on all levels of our lives in ways that don’t involve hierarchy and domination and coercion?’”
In this moving podcast, Maura James McNamara interviews AK Press author Cindy Milstein. Cindy has given us with many titles, including Anarchism and Its Aspirations, Rebellious Mourning, and the just-released Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy. A bit of each of those books appears in this discussion, as Cindy discusses the the long history of mutual aid, the processes of grieving the countless unnecessary losses we experience in this society, and generally what anarchism has to offer us in times of crisis like the one we’re experiencing. As someone not very familiar with anarchism, Maura makes a great conversation partner with Cindy. As she put it, “I realized that I and so many people I know, maybe even you, are anarchist in spirit. That’s because anarchism is a vision for a society based on mutual care and compassion…which is really the only way forward that makes any intuitive and rational sense.”
You can find more of Cindy’s work here. Until April 21st her newest book, Deciding for Ourselves, is being offered on a pay-what-you-can basis for people whose financial situation is precarious due to Covid-19.
More of Maura’s podcast, Unbroken Chain, can be found here.