Mutualism & The Co-op

Preface

There exists a vast array of thought surrounding mutualism and giving it a concise definition is bound to oversimplify certain elements of its rich history. With that said, it should be noted that the views expressed in this article are the opinions of our collective, and do not represent the whole of mutualist anarchist thought. This article is not meant to be a comprehensive explanation of mutualism, but rather a brief introduction to it and our project. Whether you are anarcho-curious or already steeped in anarchist literature, we invite you to join us as we carefully explore the oldest school of anarchist thought and the diverse ecology of ideas within it.

Mutualist Anarchism 

In the broadest and most abstract sense, mutualism can be viewed as mutually beneficial associations between organisms that come about through a positive process of emergence without prescriptive authority. Mutualism is rightly associated with anarchism. In this context, it is similar to venerable moral philosophies, such as the Silver Rule, or more analytical models, like Game Theory. More specifically, it describes social relations based on the principles of cooperation, reciprocity, and free association. It is an ongoing project that stands in bold opposition to the state, the property relations it maintains within capitalism, and to all other coercive means of control, manipulation, and theft. Mutualism seeks to bring about a stateless economic order where labor dances on the grave of the wage system and individuals act in accordance with their willingness and desire within the realm of equal liberty. 

How might we cultivate order without the state or the exploitative economic systems which grow from it? After all, wouldn’t statelessness be violently chaotic without an extremely profound moral transformation on behalf of everyone on the planet? This is a common and reasonable concern that mutualism is uniquely fit to address, making it stand apart from alternative utopian proposals. Instead of depending on essentialist narratives about inherent human altruism, mutualism postulates modes of organizing that reach beyond the limitations of systems which rely solely on good will and trust. And while treating others with kindness and dignity is, no doubt, a righteous endeavor, any political model that requires people to become angels is doomed to fail in the goal of bringing about true social cooperation. Furthermore, those seeking to engage in effective altruism must contend with the reality of limited knowledge and information processing that restricts their ability to deploy time, energy, and resources. Since people understand their own subjective wants and needs far more viscerally than those of others, mutual aid by itself is a necessary but insufficient means toward facilitating true human flourishing. Mutualism proposes that this sort of social complexity requires arrangements that acknowledge and harness the power of incentive through free contract in addition to ad hoc peer support and fraternity. Practically speaking, this means supporting egalitarian networks of trade, worker ownership over the means of production, and stigmergic property rules, defaulting to the principle of occupancy and use. In contrast to actually existing capitalist markets, mutualism advocates a means of experimental market coordination where reciprocity is upheld through norms based on equality and justice, which are not hierarchically prescribed, but rationally constructed and implemented from the bottom up. Of course, anarchy as a whole seeks to shine a light on and overcome all unequal power dynamics, (racism, sexism, queerphobia, etc.) that are based on and reproduce hierarchy, but the utilization of anti-capitalist markets is one way in which mutualism is unique among other proclivities within anarchist thought.

Another component of mutualist thought is the balancing of social-systemic forces through voluntary networks of federations and free communes. The classical proposed organizational model for these institutions would function in a way that subordinates the higher to the lower, and where the right of individual secession is always upheld. Some contemporary anarchists build on this model, emphasizing the potential of New Municipalist Movements as a means by which the state can be dissolved into an administrative platform for common governance, partnering in the transition to a post-capitalist economy. Other contemporary models of federalism reach beyond these specific, formalized structures entirely and argue that all centralized institutions face stark but subtle limits on how quickly they can adapt to a messy and changing world, even when they are implemented on a smaller scale, at a local level. Instead, proponents of such models highlight the importance of building spontaneous and polycentric alternatives outside the state's purview, where structural forms contain more than one center and are not necessarily bound by geography. Instead of reforming existing economic and governmental institutions in a transitory stage to anarchy, the goal is to construct alternative equitable-economies and commons arrangements with the intention of evolving beyond and despite the state. Critics of this type of decentralized polycentricity have dismissed the notion as chaotic, irrational, and disorderly. However, we have countless real-world examples of its actual efficacy, largely thanks to Elinor Ostrom who received the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Ostrom remains one of the greatest researchers in polycentric common pool resource management and used to quip that “any resource arrangement that works in practice can work in theory.” This quickly encapsulates the findings of her many years of observational work. While Ostrom’s findings certainly demonstrate the practicality of such arrangements, their revolutionary potential is up for debate and may have to grapple with problems related to scalability and mass adoption. Mutualist anarchy has benefited greatly from studies in commons based resource management, and the extent to which they are compatible with original notions of mutualist federalism is also an area worth exploring.

The conversations and debates surrounding the federalist aspect of mutualism are complex and fascinating. The way in which these arrangements interact with mutualist economies are, in our opinion, even more interesting. This topic is just one example of a discussion that Mutualism Co-op hopes to platform and promote.

The Co-op

We would be remiss to not mention the imperfect founder of mutualist anarchism, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. He was a socialist philosopher, politician, economist, the first person to call themself an anarchist and mutualist. He also happens to be a god who we must abolish. Why abolish the king of anarchy, you might ask? First, anarchy has no room for monarchs or politicians. Second, you may or may not be familiar with his statement, “I dream of a world in which I would be executed as a reactionary.” Well, it’s 2022 and we, the culture who cancels, have sharpened our daggers and prepared the chamber. After a carful look at the evidence, the decentralized people’s jury of the future has come to an understanding that Pierre-Joseph Proudhon is guilty on all counts of anti-semitism and misogyny. In the interest of justice in accordance with proportionality and reason, we call for a partial execution. With our newly cleaned blades, we swiftly execute the reactionary inclinations of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. We henceforth, do not welcome these attitudes and prejudices and refuse to ally with anyone who holds them.

Since his time, many other thinkers have contributed to the philosophy of mutualism. To be brief, a few familiar classical names include Benjamin Tucker, Clarence Lee Swartz, and Lysander Spooner, and a couple contemporary theorists include Kevin Carson and Shawn Wilbur. What we seek to do with Mutualism Coop is not to crusade for an Orthodox Proudhonianism, strict Carsonism, or immortal science of neo-Tuckerism, but to simply gather and present ideas related to mutualist anarchism to further its understanding and development. Hence we do not seek to be an unchallenged authority on the subject, but are instead simply interested in stoking the flames of liberty that mutualism ignites. We plan to publish internal authors and submissions from those outside of the organization to a contemporary collection, as well as publishing works of classic mutualist texts. We are also considering exploring mutualist anarchy with audio production and are open to any relevant, creative ideas you may have for us to consider.

You can stay up to date with our articles and media production at mutualismcoop.com and follow us on Twitter at @mutualismcoop. If you are interested in writing for us, have suggestions for content, or would like to join our efforts in spreading the ideas of stateless cooperation, free association, and reciprocity, please feel free to reach out at mutualism coop at protonmail dot com or through social media. Finally, if you are interested in seeing this project thrive, consider supporting our efforts by becoming a patron.

Success for us means giving mutualism a larger reach, helping erode the existing orthodoxy on the left as to what capitalism is and how we might overcome it, helping to normalize anarchy as a legitimate proposal within political philosophy as a whole, and inspiring the construction of alternative institutions that help us progress toward a liberated world within the shell of the old.

In reciprocity,

Mutualism Co-op