“In the end, the state is not only the institutions and their control, but it is also a relationship between people: how they act in respect to each other.
So, it’s not about organizing free social activities, or handing out free food because one has a big heart and wants to help others. In order to radically transform society, to strive for an exploitation-free world, it is essential to start behaving differently towards one other, putting real solidarity and real self-organization in practice. Solidarity should therefore not be intended as mere assistance, as a tool for making up for state’s welfare, but rather as a process of shifting power relations.”
The first half of this year has definitely been an unprecedented period for many people and for us included, from having to stop/alter our practices of collectivisation to confronting ourselves with the strange dynamics solidarity projects can fall into.
For a series of reflections called World Stories from the Margins, we’ve been asked to recount that period of activity and the reflections that we made along the way.
The result is the text “Between solidarity and charity: a dialogue from the kitchen” that you can read on the website of Convivial Thinking at this link: https://www.convivialthinking.org/index.php/2020/09/25/solidarity-and-charity-a-dialogue-from-the-kitchen/