Building a solidarity economy, even in authoritarian times
Meet The People’s Network for Land & Liberation
We’ve spent a lot of time on this season of Laura Flanders & Friends discussing the many dangers of this moment. By now you’ve heard from veterans, policy strategists, activists and organizers — all of whom came on the show with real, plausible solutions to beat back authoritarianism. But offense is just as important as defense, and so today, I’m speaking with three changemakers who are deeply engaged in visionary building for their communities.
The People’s Network for Land & Liberation consortium includes six community-based organizations that are doing politics and economics differently. That looks like a Black cooperatively-owned sea moss business in Atlanta, or a digital fabrication lab where people can 3-D print the things they need. “We can stop feeding the monster that’s consuming us, and actually disconnect from that process and use what we have,” says PNLL Network Member Blair Evans.
PNLL isn’t just imagining a future free from extraction; they’re building it right now in diverse places across the U.S. The more we experiment and engage with the future we want, the easier it will be to scale. “It’s really that shift in consciousness that needs to happen that’s going to allow for this new economy to emerge,” says Edget Betru, PNLL Coordinator. PNLL Staff David Cobb says more and more people are eager to learn about this work.
Tune in and hear how we shift power, build community resilience and scale up a solidarity economy. Podcast subscribers will receive the full, uncut conversation where we share even more work from PNLL’s member organizations, like a worker-owned indoor greenhouse in Massachusetts.
And stay until the end of the show for my thoughts on William Morris’s News From Nowhere — and the power in feeling a positive future. Monthly supporters will receive my extended commentary this Saturday. If you aren’t one already, become a paid subscriber to unlock tomorrow’s post.
Stay kind, stay curious,
Laura
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Coming this spring: A new season of LF&F
