The Mutual Aid Dilemma: Disasters, Crises and Social Reproduction

About the event

In an age of climate catastrophe, mutual aid has gained renewed importance in providing relief when hurricanes, floods and wildfires hit, as cuts to federal spending put significant strain on communities struggling to survive. Harking back to the self-organized welfare programs of the Black Panther Party, radical social movements from Occupy to Black Lives Matter are building voluntary aid networks within and against the state. However, as the federal responsibility for relief is lifted, mutual aid plays a double-edged role in cuts to social spending. Framing disaster relief through the lens of social reproduction, this talk tracks a shift in American emergency aid towards a new relationship between the state, the market, and civil society.