OTNS: Mutualism, labor unions and cooperatives (not charity)
Apr 21, 2024
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Guest Sara Horowitz, founder of Freelancers Union, discusses building mutualistic organizations, the history of workers' movements, and how crypto can promote solidarity. The podcast explores the shift towards mutualism, the impact of technology on social interactions, and the use of blockchain for resource sharing and collaboration. It also highlights the importance of community building, democratic technology, and fostering change through supportive networks.
Building mutualism empowers workers and addresses challenges like neoliberalism.
Creating solidarity and economic mechanisms supports freelancers in sustainable ways.
Exploring innovative structures like networked unions is crucial for empowering workers effectively.
Deep dives
Building Mutualism for Worker Empowerment
Starting from their experiences, Sarah Horowitz emphasizes the importance of building mutualism within communities to empower workers. She stresses the significance of understanding workers' needs and building structures to support them, especially in the face of challenges like neoliberalism.
Creating Mutualist Structures for Worker Protection
Sarah delves into her experience founding the Freelancers Union and highlights the principles of mutualism in action. She explains how mutualism involves creating solidarity among freelancers, establishing economic mechanisms for sustainability, and maintaining a long-term perspective, all aimed at providing support directly from the community.
Challenges and Opportunities in Mutualist Economic Models
The conversation touches on the need for new economic models like networked unions to adapt to the changing labor landscape and address the decline in unionization rates despite public support. Sarah advocates for exploring innovative structures beyond traditional formats to empower workers effectively.
Applying Mutualism in Modern Contexts
The discussion extends to applying the concept of mutualism in modern contexts, merging socialist and anarchist principles with contemporary needs. Sarah shares her journey of transitioning from union organizing to fostering a mutualist society, emphasizing the importance of personal needs and community-building for sustainable change.
Transitioning to Mutualist Tech Infrastructures
As the conversation navigates through the potential of blockchain technology in fostering mutualism, Sarah discusses the revolutionary potential of distributed ledgers for supporting mutualist and social sectors. Emphasizing the need for trust-based technological innovation, she highlights the importance of experimentation, clarity, and community-driven development in creating mutualist tech infrastructures.
Fostering Community Engagement and Mutualist Values
Sarah underscores the significance of community engagement and fostering mutualist values for organizational success. She encourages starting small, building personal connections, and cultivating trust within communities as essential steps to establish mutualist initiatives and drive meaningful change.
We spoke to Sara Horowitz (@Sara_Horowitz), founder of the Freelancers Union and author of the book Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the ground Up . Sara was also one of our co-conspirators in Zuzalu in Montenegro last year who brought her extensive experience and wisdom from building and supporting worker-focused organizations. We spoke about the practical realities of building mutualistic organizations, the history of how workers' movements did it, and how crypto can build this through solidarity primitives.
Check out a previous episode to learn more about our framework for out network state alternative, coordi-nations.
JOIN THE BLOCKCHAINGOV DISCORD SERVER HERE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE CONTINUED OVERTHROW AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE RISE OF COORDI-NATIONS.
Overthrowing the Network State (OTNS) is a series in collaboration with Blockchaingov where we critique The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan while also pulling out the salvageable parts and concepts in discussion with a variety of guests. You can find the first episode of OTNS where we give our initial criticisms and alternatives here.
Blockchaingov is a 5-year long, transdisciplinary research effort aimed at restoring trust in institutions at the community and global levels, by promoting better on chain and off chain distributed governance practices. Throughout the series, each discussion will include me and a member of Blockchaingov with either a new guest each episode or a discussion between us to tackle various topics from the book.
ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix Itand is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking.
The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.
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