Capitalism is shit, oppression is shit - but what can we at SolFed do about it?

We need to change the world we live in - a world where exploitation at work and home, state violence, oppression and inequality run rampant.

We can’t do this as individuals - only mass collective action from across the breadth of the working class can achieve this. This doesn’t need to be controlled by a small handful of self-appointed leaders - but if we want to build a movement that challenges capital, the state and all forms of oppression, we need to get organised.

SolFed is a membership organisation, dedicated to the struggle for improved conditions at work, for liveable housing and communities, and against oppression and bigotry. Ultimately we want to be part of the movement that builds an entirely new world.

For us, anarchism is about organisation - and we want you to be part of it.

Why join a membership organisation?

We understand that some people don’t see the point in joining a formal membership organisation. Often people (including many of us!) have had poor interactions with other organisations, especially ones which are supposedly ‘revolutionary’. Similarly, most of us have had (and continue to have) successful and fulfilling involvement in more informal groups, which work well for lots of tasks.

But if we are to build a long term challenge to capital and the state, we need to respond to the organisational ability that the state has. Capitalism has lasted hundreds of years, and is not going down without a fight - in order to do that, we need to be organised.

We don’t think we are building the ‘one true organisation’ that will build a utopia, but we do think that through careful and meticulous organisation we can be part of the fight to build a better world.

Benefits of a membership organisation:

Together we are stronger:

We can share resources, benefit from our different strengths, and cover for individual weaknesses. Newer members can learn from more experienced ones, and vice versa.

Organisational memory:

We can learn from past mistakes, and avoid repeating them. Successful tactics can be developed, and improved. We can build long-term relationships and trust based on collective solidarity.

Reaching out beyond our immediate circles:

As a public, open organisation, it’s easier for us to reach out beyond the ‘usual’ kind of people who might get involved.

Benefits of a membership organisation:

Avoid the ‘tyranny of structurelessness’:

Formal structure helps guard against informal hierarchies from emerging.

With the best will in the world, in this society those with time, confidence and resources (typically white, educated, cishet and/or male) will naturally tend to dominate groups, whether consciously or not. No structure alone will eliminate this entirely, but a concrete structure where everyone knows the rules can be beneficial.

Image: a front cover for the pamphlet ‘The Tyranny of Structurelessness’ by Jo Freeman

We want to build a better world together, and this starts with all of us.

If this is something you’re interested in, feel free to get in touch.