Linking Opposition & Alternatives

Cooperative development is the most important social change work that a person can do.

Dr. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard is a Community Justice and Social Economic Development Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College. She is an internationally recognized and widely published political economist specializing in cooperative economics, community economic development, racial wealth inequality, solidarity economics, Black Political Economy, popular economic literacy, and community-based approaches to justice. In this broadcast, she discusses the history & importance of Black economic cooperatives.

I want to share a framework that explains the different varieties of tech worker cooperatives. This framework helps us understand the various pathways tech workers can take to join the tech worker cooperative movement.

The Commons are a set of resources and places that are accessible to all members of society (parks, libraries, air). When we say 'the commons' we are referring to things and places that are held collectively, not owned privately.
 

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org and Stroud Commons talks with Tom Woodroof of Local Loop Merseyside and Mutual Credit Services about the Credit Commons – a way to federate different groups all over the world that are building the commons economy (because you can’t get everything you need from just your community) – but it does it without centralised control. I want to get more details from Tom about this world-changing initiative.

The recuperation of enterprises by their workers in Argentina has achieved ample social legitimacy despite its disruptive characteristics. What are the logics that sustain this legitimacy? Does this legitimacy extend to all aspects of the recuperation process, even the most disruptive ones? How do the logics that sustain the legitimacy of the recuperated enterprises interact with the hegemonic values of capitalist society?

Safouan Azouzi, a Tunisian scholar of the commons and participatory social design, discusses how cultural traditions in desert oases hold important socio-ecological lessons for the world.

My main work over the past 44 years has been about figuring out how we can consciously develop democracy all over this country. This has included 16 years of active involvement with the cooperative/solidarity economic movements. I believe that bringing this developmental perspective to the cooperative movement can be a rich and productive way for celebrating the 20th birthday of the USFWC. 

Enjoy this panel discussion on the role of the labor movement in solidarity economy hosted by the Solidarity Economy Club at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies from Friday, May 10 , 2024.

GEO interviewed Mance in early 2024 hoping to better understand his work and thoughts on solidarity economy, particularly with regards to the Solidarius.net platform. The interview was conducted in Spanish, and has been edited for clarity.