Strategy

Collective Power through Alternative Models

‱ 10 min read

As we describe in our articles on the decline of the Left, the rise of the Right, the demise of the Western Empire, and the threat of civilisational collapse, we face pretty serious constraints when attempting to build collective agency and power. How do we respond to neglect and insulation, shrinking resources and increasing oppression, and expanding and accelerating collapse in our work to catalyse the emergence of a collective agent?

Our proposal offers three partial answers to this question.

Starting in the Cracks

We advocate starting “in the cracks” where the supremacy of domination systems is incomplete or faces resistance. Examples include where the state can no longer provide essential services profitably, leaving gaps to be filled; communities with strong social bonds; or sectors where worker power remains concentrated. This is where the system breaks down already, and from there further cracks and erosion can spread.

Movements should focus on achievable wins in these areas that gain them a better position for future action, rather than repeatedly attacking the system’s most defended points. This is an example of what Richard Rumelt calls “taking a strong position and creating options,”11Rumelt (2011) ↩ a proven strategy in the face of complexity and uncertainty. The key is diagnosing where capitalism’s contradictions create openings, then developing strategies to transform these tactical footholds into strategic leverage for building collective power at scale.

At the same time, starting in the cracks (or “staying under the radar”) of the system is often the only way to escape surveillance and oppression while still gathering the strength necessary to openly challenge a current or future hegemonic system. When done carefully, community and neighbourhood organising, mutual aid, and popular education can lay foundations for political action without triggering an immediate state response.

Building Alternative Models

Building on the above, we propose to focus on developing alternative models to provide for people’s basic needs and coordinate collective action. This will allow us to respond to the waves of collapse we’ve described:22MĂŒller (2024) describes how and encourages that formerly disruption-oriented climate activists focus on building alternative models of support to counter fascism and create resilience in climate and ecological breakdown. ↩

  • In the demise of the Western Empire, these models can provide a safety net for people whose needs are no longer met by the state. As the state contracts its services, mutual aid and community networks are becoming increasingly important to fill that vacuum.

  • In climate breakdown and ecological collapse, the models offer a way to create resilient and sustainable ways of living that are not dependent on the dominant modes of extraction and are better adapted to resource limitations.

These alternative models will also function as sources of strength and resilience, enabling and expanding collective agency: They will empower local communities, build and strengthen relationships, create resilience, and bring in people by offering tangible value to them, from practical support to experiences of agency and belonging. Crucially, building practical knowledge of social coordination and collective decision-making might help avoid fascist systems of governance filling the void under collapse.

There is another reason why alternative models of means provision are crucial: If we want to develop an alternative to the current extractive system, we can’t solely draw on the resources it provides – otherwise we’ll stay dependent on and reinforce what we’re trying to overcome.33Philanthropists and foundations like Lankelly Chase are beginning to understand this and are looking for new models that don’t depend on and feed financial markets and their models of rent extraction. ↩ Gandhi saw this very clearly when developing the constructive part of his strategy: The Indian independence movement was only able to highlight the moral corruption of the colonial system because, and insofar as, they weren’t dependent on it for resources. In other words, we need to remove ourselves from reliance on hegemonic relationships in order to change the structure of hegemonic alliances.

The alternative vision of society embodied in these alternative models revolves around the idea of “abundance from below”. Power and resources are not handed down from the state, a company, or wealthy benefactors, who have all, in one way or another, accumulated these resources through extraction. They are generated from the grassroots up through collaboration, solidarity, and mutual aid.44Spade (2020) ↩ Creating abundance from below means re-commoning and using appropriate technology.55This vision is markedly different from modernist visions like the one of Srnicek & Williams (2015). ↩

Such a society can only work in small units, through locally organised people and institutions who form federations for larger-scale coordination, e.g. in bioregions. Its reduced scale and complexity are an adaptation to collapse, but also the expression of a shift away from centring growth via technological innovation towards prioritising freedom, self-realisation, and well-being.66For examples of what such societies could look like and the work required to build them, see LeGuin (1974, 1976, 1986), Bookchin (1991), and the Kurdish Freedom Movement (Rojava Information Center 2022) and the Zapatistas in Mexico (Gahman 2016). ↩

Concrete areas of working towards this new social reality will be:

  • Alternative means of needs provision that function independently of existing state structures. Specific forms can range from community food systems, alternative housing models, and community healthcare systems to alternative financial, governance, and defense systems. Providing for basic needs builds trust, obligations and ultimately political power (something the Right knows very well).

  • Alternative economic models to distribute goods and services, ranging from localised markets to gift economies, depending on the context.

  • Mutual aid networks as a key infrastructure underpinning these models. Such networks connect individuals, organisations, and communities that serve as providers, enabling solidarity, a sense of shared responsibility, and ultimately collective consciousness.

  • Vision prototyping: Alternative models embody different ways of relating to each other, of living and working together – alternative visions of society. These need to be as open and vague as necessary to connect to existing lore and stay malleable, whilst being concrete and vivid enough to be relatable and attractive. We need to discover, develop, and spread memes and myths that straddle this line.

This work should be understood not merely as prefigurative politics that model future society, but as the construction of genuine institutional power operating outside the dominant system – a dual power77Wikipedia, “Dual power” ↩ approach.

Such an approach creates parallel structures that can meet people’s material needs while developing organisational capacity independent of capitalist and state institutions. Historical precedents like the Russian Soviets demonstrate how alternative coordination mechanisms can accumulate real power and challenge existing authority structures, while contemporary examples such as neighborhood assemblies show how communities can develop autonomous decision-making processes and resource distribution networks.

By focusing on practical needs provision rather than symbolic demonstration, these alternative institutions build tangible power bases that strengthen collective agency and create infrastructure for broader systemic transformation during and after collapse.

Scaling with Movement Platforms

Social movements are not singular, homogenous entities, but a networks of interacting and interdependent entities – ideas, individuals, forms of action, groups and organisations, physical spaces, etc. This is the central insight of movement ecology.88This section is based on Nunes (2021). For an example of how the Right uses movement platforms, see our article on the rise of the Right. ↩

Platforms help collective agency emerge from such a network more effectively than centralised, hierarchical organisations like parties because they

  • recognise the inherent diversity of a movement and don’t try to force it into a single, unified structure;

  • emphasise cooperation and mutual support over competition among different actors that would have to be centrally regulated;

  • allow organisational needs to emerge from the tasks involved, so that working towards a concrete goal drives what structures are developed.

Platforms consist of three key components:

  • a pre-established object (a target, goals, a narrative of where that fits in a broader picture),
  • a set of protocols (type of action, levels of risk and commitment for participation, overall messaging and profile, ‘red lines’, hashtags) and
  • some resources (visual identity, guidelines, downloadable materials, online forums, geolocalised maps, protest infrastructure, legal aid, press packs
).99ibid., 205 (emphasis ours). See also Gilbert & Williams (2022) for a different take on the importance of platforms to build collective power. ↩

They enable collective action to coalesce around these components and scale without hitting the limits of centralised organising, in the long run providing scaffolding for emergent collective agents. In other words, platforms provide a sweet spot of constraints: too few and a collective agent would emerge too slowly to capture attention; too many and people would resent being dictated what to do.

The frontloading model of Momentum-driven Organising1010See, e.g., Momentum Community (2023). The frontloaded material is often conceptualised as “DNA;” this analogy is quite restrictive as it misrepresents how the shape of a movement actually emerges and symbolically limits the inherent diversity of a platform. ↩ has its merits here: Goals, values, and overarching strategy are agreed beforehand and non-negotiable, while resources for the development of artwork, tactics, messaging etc. give space for new groups to bring their idiosyncratic creativity and contribute in unique ways to overall growth.

This is an area where Extinction Rebellion excelled:[+xr-1] Enabled by a pre-established object (the three demands), a set of protocols (principles and values, focus on mass civil disobedience, emergency messaging, organising framework) and lots of resources (from visual identity to action guidelines), over 800 chapters were established in more than 70 countries1111Extinction Rebellion (2019) ↩ within the first eight months of their first big action, the April 2019 “rebellion” in London.

Using similar tools, platforms can help scale alternative models beyond a limited local or regional scope and enable them to contribute to the emergence of a larger collective agent. Combined, they can:

  • work at the grassroots level and provide space for experimentation, while allowing for replication of successful models beyond initial local contexts;

  • connect with immediate material and psychological needs, while allowing adaptation to differences in these needs across locations and demographics;

  • focus on concrete projects and challenges, while forming a network that enables coordination between these small and autonomous units.

Together, alternative models and movement platforms can take on the role that parties and unions have traditionally played in movement composition while acknowledging the ecological character of movements: They can catalyse collective agency from diversity and dispersed action. Collective agents emerging from them can foster more variety and local action, which can in turn be catalysed into more agency.

This virtuous cycle of movement building can ultimately generate what is needed – a sufficiently large politically conscious collective agent.

References

← Back to Articles

Stay Connected!

Get updates on new articles, workshops, and resources for building collective power in social movements.

Ready to Build Collective Power?

Get in touch to discuss how we can help you or your group navigate the complexity of movement building.

Drop us an email!