Organizing for Autonomy: History, Theory, and Strategy for Collective Liberation

by CounterPower

Organizing for Autonomy takes on the urgent task of critically clarifying and contextualizing a multitude of possibilities, spaces, and opportunities to resist capitalism, climate catastrophe, heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, workers’ exploitation, and a range of other oppressive structures. Delineating the mechanisms of these violent institutions paired with a historical account of revolutionary movements from around the world, and ending with a radical reimagining of contemporary life, CounterPower offers a brazen and determined articulation of a world that centers community, love, and justice.

With unparalleled breadth and synthesizing innumerable sources of revolutionary thought and history into a single vision, Organizing for Autonomy is the result of years of struggle and resistance that acts as both an introduction to revolutionary theory and a practical prompt to the burning questions of how we get free. Bold, fearless, and radically original, Organizing for Autonomy imagines a decolonized, communist, alternative world order that is free from oppressive structures, state violence, and racial capitalism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Activism, Politics, History

230 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2020

About the author

CounterPower is a revolutionary organization committed to building the power of working and oppressed people, from below and to the left. Drawing lessons from past and present movements, we offer an analysis, vision, and strategy to build for social revolution in the heart of empire. We organize to dismantle the imperialist world-system: a system based on the fusion of capitalism, heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, and the state. This system is killing people and the planet. In its place, we want to build a free society where all people have full control over their lives. Revolutionary movements must build the “counterpower” necessary to overthrow and abolish all forms of oppression. We believe that autonomous organizations, from labor and tenant unions to councils and communes, are necessary to advance the struggle for liberation. With branches throughout the United States, CounterPower has more than a decade of experience helping to build the collective power and autonomy of workers and the oppressed. As comrades, we work together to build and practice revolutionary politics in our grassroots organizing, embodying the values of a free society in the present. We care for one another as we work to transform ourselves and the world around us.

Reviews

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

In lots of ways, I think this book is great. It puts forward a libertarian communist vision of the future in quite a lot of detail, particularly the 3rd chapter, which is worth reading on its own. It brings forward a synthesis of multiple tendencies and ideas, in a way that works. It’s the embodiment of the idea “we are anarchists to the communists and communists to the anarchists”.

I particularly appreciated the part on the FAI arguing that it was a party of autonomy and that anarchism has also had cadre etc. It also draws from a really wide array of sources which is often great, although sometimes gets drawn into incoherence. For example, Malatesta and Mao are quoted in the same paragraph. I think “Maoism” has a lot of interesting elements, particularly the dissident elements within the Cultural Revolution in the Chinese ultra-left, for example, Yang Xiguang's "Whither China?” essay. These are the elements of Maoism that should be drawn on. However, the Mao quote that is cited is “Let 100 flowers bloom”, which famously was followed by massive political repression in the anti-rightist campaign as Mao did a complete 180. There seems to be very little reason to include this quote apart from a desire to include Mao. In my opinion, these concepts should be included when relevant, but there needs to be some kind of acknowledgement that the political project presented here is actually very different to Marxism-Leninism, rather than collapse them all into an all-encompassing communism, even if they are putting forward a kind of libertarian-Leninism.

[Kara Aragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're already anti-imperialism & pro-communism then this book will be of interest. If you are not then I imagine this book to be too in-depth & a DNF... It has valuable information & an answer to basically any question someone on different levels of knowledge abt the topics shared might have. I  really wish there was a more simplified version so more people would read/be more likely to finish it . I was very "fuck yeah" reading this book but even I found it to be tedious & exhausting at times.

[Adam Schlesinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great synthesis of a lot of new leftist theory. What I'd recommend to someone who's trying to imagine a version of socialism/communism that's not "socialism is when the government does stuff". My favorite marxists are ones that blend a lot of anarchist theory into their analysis.

[Aidan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read during a very long day of driving today, also checked out the accompanying discussion which I thoroughly enjoyed. Still gets so preposterously abstract, even though I do love a lot of the rich theorization.

[are we there yet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a leftist textbook/manifesto that can be tedious for the casual reader. Also, just learned that CounterPower is an actual organization. Huh.

[Canyon Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fine piece but Regeneration ran a chapter of the book ("create two, three many parties") that made reading the whole book sort of unnecessary. happy to support them but was disappointed by the full text. very jargony and reads like a manifesto rather than a text on organizing