by Elise Grage
Dean Spade is an emergent revolutionary author, focusing primarily on abolitionist and trans-feminist theory. For nearly two decades, Spade worked towards racial and economic justice while being a member of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a collective organization focused on community building and legal service accessibility to marginalized groups. Having received commendations from the likes of Angela Davis, Spade’s most recent work “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis,” emphasizes the need for community based support systems and details how to bring this movement to life. Spade’s work is important within abolitionist circles of thought, and within communist or Marxist circles as well. For anyone interested in being a part of radical politics in America, his work is refreshing and extremely insightful. This portion of the article will be pushing that thesis forward by comparing Spade’s “Mutual Aid” to other revolutionary theorists and organizations. It should be noted these ideas did not start with those theorists either, but if we were to identify their roots this article would become a book.
Spade defines the purpose of “Mutual Aid” as follows: “Left social movements have two big jobs right now. First, we need to organize to help people survive the devastating conditions unfolding every day. Second we need to mobilize hundreds of millions of people for resistance so we can tackle the underlying causes of these crises.” By creating a guide to create successful mutual aid projects that will raise the material conditions of the working class, this book is a step towards that first goal.
This idea of raising the material conditions of the proletariat as revolutionary practice is not a new idea. A notable example is found in Pyotr Kropotkin’s “The Conquest of Bread,” rooted in his analysis of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune of 1871. Similarly, Spade’s work incorporates lessons from revolutionary struggles and rebellions in America along with his personal experiences in mutual aid work. The following quotes are from Kropotkins book The Conquest of Bread, and Spade’s book Mutual Aid and should show how these theorists’ ideas overlap.
“A mutual aid project that has a political analysis of your conditions that produced your crisis also helps to break stigma, shame, and isolation. Under capitalism, social problems resulting from exploitation and maldistribution of resources are understood as individual moral failings, not systemic problems. Getting support at a place that sees the systems, not the people suffering in them, as the problem can help move people from shame to anger and defiance.” (Spade)
“Be it ours to see, from the first day of the Revolution to the last, in all the provinces fighting for freedom, that there is not a single man who lacks bread, not a single woman compelled to stand with the wearied crowd outside the bakehouse-door, that haply a coarse loaf may be thrown to her in charity, not a single child pining for want of food.” (Kropotkin)
“Mutual aid is essential to building social movements. People often come to social movements because they need something—because it is very difficult to organize when you are also struggling to survive.” (Spade)
“We have the temerity to declare that all have a right to bread, that there is bread enough for all, and that with this watchword of Bread for All the Revolution will triumph.” (Kropotkin)
What we see from these quotes is that Spade and Kropotkin come to the same conclusion—that in order to advance revolution, we must raise the material conditions. However, due to the nature of Kropotkin’s work being a piece of political theory, and Spade’s being a guidebook to revolutionary action, they interpret that same idea differently. Spade believes the best approach is to raise conditions before engaging in full scale revolution, building solidarity and networks before engaging in struggle. Kropotkin believes these things can happen simultaneously, or at least that is what can be gleaned from his work. This is a running trend with the theorists we mention—that Spade has come to the same conclusion, but interprets and uses the information differently.
Spade’s work is directly inspired by the work of Black feminists, Abolitionists, and Trans feminists, but his work is also inspired by Marxist-Leninist groups such as the Black Panthers and the amazing work they did with their survival programs. The Black Panthers were a revolutionary Black nationalist Marxist-Leninist organization who were active from 1966 to 1982. To get a good idea of what they advocated for as an organization, here is their 10 point program, abridged for brevity. We encourage readers to go read the full program, available on the Marxists Internet Archive. The list is as follows:
- We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black community.
- We want full employment for our people.
- We want an end to the robbery by the White man of our Black community.
- We want decent housing, fit for shelter [of] human beings.
- We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society.
- We want all Black men to be exempt from military service.
- We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of Black people.
- We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county, and city prisons and jails.
- We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black communities. As defined by the constitution of the United States.
- We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.
The Panther-led survival programs are a key example of what Spade is advocating for. He mentions their work directly, viewing these projects (such as a free breakfast program, free ambulance program, free medical clinics, and a school) as successful executions of mutual aid. The Panthers used their survival program to bring more Black community members into their struggle and liberation struggles more broadly. Spade directly incorporates these ideas into “Mutual Aid,” viewing the historic work of the Black Panther Party to showcase mutual aid’s viability as a revolutionary strategy.
So far, we have compared Spade to other theorists through their views on practice and what successful practice looks like. We will now shift to talking about Spade’s similarities with a theorist through their view of analysis. The theorist we will be comparing Spade to will be Mao Zedong, former chairman of Communist Party of China, the People’s Republic of China, the Central Military Commission, and the Central People’s Government. A figure with as much history as Mao needs little introduction and I doubt we could do him justice in this article alone. This comparison will place Spade’s “Mutual Aid” alongside Mao’s famous “Quotations,” the latter being a compilation of quotes from Mao on multiple subjects ranging from 1927 to 1964.
To begin, we’ll start by seeing how Mao views analysis, and how Spade’s own analysis in “Mutual Aid” exists within and outside of that view. To understand Mao’s view of analysis, what he means by analysis, and how analysis should be conducted, we will include several quotes from him on the subject:
“The analytical method is dialectical. By analysis, we mean analysing the contradictions in things. And sound analysis is impossible without intimate knowledge of life and without real understanding of the pertinent contradictions.” (Speech at the Chinese Communist Party’s National Conference on Propaganda Work (March 12, 1957), 15th pocket ed., p. 20.)
“Whoever wants to know a thing has no way of doing so except by coming into contact with it, that is, by living (practising) in its environment… If you want knowledge, you must take part in the practice of changing reality. If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself… If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.”
“On Practice” (July 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, pp. 299-300.
“Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from social practice, and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice, the struggle for production, the class struggle and scientific experiment.”
Where Do Correct Ideas Come from? (May 1963), 1st pocket ed., p. 1.
“No investigation, no right to speak.”
“Preface and Postscript to Rural Surveys” (March and April 1941), Selected Works, Vol. III, p.
To Mao, in order to make a decision or speak on an issue you must investigate and analyze, and to analyze something you need to understand its history, its contradictions, come into contact with it and be immersed with it. Spade’s own analysis follows these ideas closely. The chapter “What is Mutual Aid?” focuses not only on analyzing the historical relevance of mutual aid and why it’s the best option to meet people’s needs, but also why other structures designed to meet people’s survival needs fail. The chapter begins by illustrating the historic importance of mutual aid to marginalized communities, such as the aforementioned Panther survival programs, the work of the Young Lords in Puerto Rican communities, and the unbroken cycle of mutual aid within Indigenous communities that settlers have attempted to undermine by first destroying food systems, then forcing dependency on rations given at forts and missions, and now through settler nonprofits. This historical analysis lays a foundation for Spade to argue that mutual aid is a worthwhile alternative to current structures that fail to help the most vulnerable people in capitalism.
What comes after Spade’s historical analysis is his addressing of the contradictions within current nonprofit and reformist movements. His example of how nonprofits fail the most vulnerable is through critiquing single issue groups. We believe Spade says this critique best,
“In the context of professionalized nonprofit organizations, groups are urged to be single-issue orientated, framing their message around “deserving” people within populations they serve, and using tactics palatable to the elites– this is the opposite of solidarity, because it means the most vulnerable people are left behind– this narrow focus actually strengthens the systems legitimacy by advocating that the targeting of those more stigmatized people is okay.”
This critique shows the contradictions nonprofits hold as they say they are helping those in need while they in fact leave those in most need outside of their so-called “activist” work. This connects back to Mao and his ideas on contradiction and analysis. To analyze is to find contradictions and offer alternatives, and that is what Spade is doing.
Mao’s most important point about analysis is contact. Contact with the material world and its material conditions. Without directly seeing and being a part of the struggle, you can’t properly speak on the subject. Spade employs this idea through his own experiences and how he uses those experiences to inform his theory and analysis. The best example would be his work with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP), a law collective focused on providing free legal support to trans and gender-non-conforming people who are low income and/or people of color. Spade worked with the group from 2002 to 2019 and his experiences there informs much of “Mutual Aid.” Spade’s experiences enable him to address common pitfalls like co-optation, burnout, and saviorism, as well as questions of conflict, handling money, perfectionism, group culture, and group decision-making. All of the methods of praxis (practical application of a theory) described in the book are informed through either Spade’s experiences, or information he’s gathered from other successful grassroots organizations. All of this falls well within Mao’s ideas on truly understanding problems, to truly understand something you must come into contact with it, and Spade embodies this idea to the fullest in his work.
Mutual aid has always been integral to social movement work, with evidence of its use dating as far back to the 1780’s during which emergent Black communities had already developed systems of essential service delivery and needs support in response to exclusionary infrastructures and the need to build communities following waves of slavery abolishment. This highlights two key traits of mutual aid: these organizational tactics are particularly useful in the context of crisis, and government social services are not beyond the capabilities of community-based support systems. In fact, social movements based in interdependency are particularly useful to radical social change movements, both in past and contemporary contexts. Transformative justice after all is developed through networks of marginalized groups, there is no work that can be done as a single unit.
Mutual aid has always been integral to social movement work. Evidence of its use dates as far back as the 1780s, during which emergent Black communities developed systems of essential service delivery and needs support in response to exclusionary infrastructures and the need to build communities following waves of slave emancipation. A community’s collective work was capable of providing an equivalent to government social services, even under profound duress. This highlights how interdependency is particularly useful to movements for radical change, both in past and contemporary contexts. Transformative justice is developed through networks of marginalized groups, there is no work that can be done as a single unit.
While analyzing Mutual Aid, it is important to acknowledge that Spade in this case is not a creator but a white purveyor of information. We must remember the racial roots of mutual aid, and that for many the very concept of mutual aid prior to Covid-19 was something to shun—the practice was read as charity at best and a hand out at worst. Mutual aid in practice directly contradicts white supremacist society, as it challenges class, racial hierarchy and a distinctly American individualism. Mutual aid prioritizes the marginalized, a concept profoundly alien to capitalist society.
Black women specifically have an extensive history in mutual aid, project organization and overall advancement of movement. What is unique is that these movements do not grow out of adjacent movements—they are the direct result of the coupled experiences of race and gender within society at large. Mere existence is politicized, living is treated as an act of resistance.
In summation, the concept of mutual aid long precedes both early and contemporary white thinkers exploring its value to social movements. There is no school of thought surrounding the issue that has not already been conceived of or employed by marginalized groups throughout history. However, as societal collapse nears and crisis becomes increasingly frequent, the need to disseminate accessible information for organizing work grows rapidly. Literary voices like Spade help to demystify common practices within movements while employing digestible language and ideas to an increasingly desperate and fearful population. If nothing else, we can at least be there for one another in the end.
Overall, Spade’s works serve as an excellent introduction to praxis, collective management and movement organization. Spade also sets himself apart from the long cast of contemporary white radical thinkers in that he does not claim these ideas as his own, nor does he hide the historical significance and roles these ideas have played long before he hit the stage. While it may not be new, it is most definitely a valuable resource to keep in the revolutionary toolbox.
“…Social movements create vibrant social networks in which we not only do work in a group, but also have friendships, make art, have sex, mentor and parent kids, feed ourselves and each other, build radical land and housing experiments, and inspire each other about how we can cultivate liberation in all aspects of our lives.”
-Dean Spade, “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity in This Crisis”
