Interesting video in which Maoists Space Babies and a member of FTP-Boston criticize mutual aid as not contributing to the revolution.
I can agree with some of their criticisms as mutual aid can sometimes just be a synonym for charity on the left, involving just giving people stuff without any connection to community ties or without trying to bring people into the class struggle. Doing mutual aid solely for the purpose of mutual aid without having other organizations such as labor unions and tenant unions attached to it doesn't build up dual power.
However I do think they go too far in their criticisms and fail to realize that providing support networks to people are critical to ensuring they can join an organization. Like if a working class person is already struggling to put food on the table they will not have the time to go on strike, but if you help them out first through mutual aid you not only improve their ability to take future actions but also will make them more sympathetic to your organization and more liking to want to go on strike and join the socialist movement.
What do y'all think of the video? :thinkin-lenin:
I think the video argues well against the "let's build communism by building communes" type of leftist, but I think it also misses a couple of useful aspects of mutual aid.
I think the party should be involved with people throughout the whole process of radicalization, not just come in at the point where they are ready to start studying theory. Mutual aid work is something that is easy to invite people to, regardless of their personal progress, it gets them involved and closer to the people.
The idea that mutual aid could actually prevent revolutionary conditions seems a bit suspect. People might have joined the Long March because the other choice was starvation, but I do not see that happening in the modern imperial core. The state is perfectly capable of feeding, housing, and clothing the people if it needs to, our competitor should also be able to, how will it look to the masses otherwise?
The video talks a lot about mutual aid not being "revolutionary in and of itself", but that is true of any revolutionary activity, at least ones that aren't abstract enough to also include mutual aid.