Fascinating to read about ‘the Preston model’. Preston is a town about 30 minutes from where I grew up in the north-west of England. (Narrowly) voted for Brexit. In the middle of an attempted transition to localism and cooperativism inspired by Cleveland in the US and Mondragon.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/14/poverty-was-entrenched-in-preston-so-we-became-more-self-sufficient

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/31/preston-hit-rock-bottom-took-back-control

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Yeah it was great for that. Also challenging lots of preconceptions. In many places my first reaction was ‘hmm not sure I like the sound of that..’ Like the dormitories, the absent parenting, the kids just being assigned a name. And then over time I’d start thinking ‘wait, exactly why don’t I like that idea?’ Like is there objectively something wrong with it or just because of the particular cultural hegemony I’ve grown up in.

Which contradictions were you thinking of?

Reposted: A post (social.coop)

TightShift Laboring Cooperative is a worker co-op composed primarily of formerly incarcerated people. They are raising money for a moving truck and insurance, and have a matching grant for donation received by May 1. https://www.gofundme.com/tightshift They're super awesome. You should definitely throw them a few bucks to help get their co-op rockin'.

“cultural revolutions typically precede political revolutions, as the former creates the social conditions for a critical mass of the people to embrace new social values that orient them toward the possibility of another world” Kali Akuno & Ajamu Nangwaya

On the importance of education and information dissemination. And in my opinion, speculative fiction.

#JacksonRising #ReadingGroup

There’s a call to action for solidarity and mutual aid with Cooperation Jackson at the end of chapter one of Jackson Rising.

What’s exciting is that with the 3rd and 4th industrial revolutions, there’s a chance I can give that solidarity from across the globe. It could be financial, technical, informational, it could be microtasking on some problem.

It reminds me of Walkaway, where the remote network springs into action when a group needs their help. We rise up.

#JacksonRising #solidarity

Places bypassed by capital might provide the best opportunity for alternative economies.

“the weak and relatively sparse concentration of capital in Mississippi creates a degree of “breathing room” on the margins and within the cracks of the capitalist system that a project like ours can maneuver and experiment within in the quest to build a viable anti-capitalist alternative.”

Makes me think cities like London are probably lost causes for now.

#JacksonRising #ReadingGroup

Voting closed, and the next book for the social.coop reading group will be Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi.

“Jackson Rising is a chronicle of one of the most dynamic, but under-documented experiments in radical social transformation taking place in the United States.”

Looking forward to learning about Cooperation Jackson.

And with that, I’ll pass the hosting baton on to @Matt_Noyes. Cheers!

#socialcoop #ReadingGroup