An Anarchist Dual Power:
Dual Power is the act of building the foundations of the society you wish to see while still in the midst of a different form of social organization. The goal is to create a situation where the two can no longer coexist. In this case, I will be talking about building the foundations of an anarchist form of social organization in a capitalist society.
Dual power was originally coined by Lenin to describe the power dynamic between the Bolsheviks and the Russian Provisional Government after the February Revolution. The Provisional Government eventually fell after the Bolsheviks successfully gained more power.
Replacing one state with another does not stop the cycle of oppression, but this tactic of challenging state power can be useful. Instead of challenging the state’s power through another state, we can challenge their power through decentralized autonomous organization. This is more effective against modern states anyways which are more easily overwhelmed when fighting decentralized groups.
We are already seeing the beginnings of dual power form. Mutual aid networks are a great start and create a framework to work off of. To truly rival the state and capital’s power, we need to expand the services offered by mutual aid networks until they become autonomous and self sustaining communities, completely independent of and in opposition to the state and capital.
Some of the service that need to be included in this transformation from mutual aid network to an autonomous community are free access to housing, free healthcare (both physical and mental), a sustainable food production system, radical education, and community defense. These are not simple things to add, but goals we will have to struggle towards if we hope to win.
Dual power is important because it prioritizes direct action, decentralized organization, and mutual aid now instead of perpetually waiting for some mythical, singular, and centralized mass revolution that never comes. It also creates a foundation to be built upon once capital and the state fall instead of starting from scratch.
If we want to abolish capitalism, the state, colonialism, and all other hierarchies before the worst effects of the climate crisis devastate the majority of live on earth we need to establish dual power quickly. We need to keep building on the foundations that have already been started until our power rivals theirs.
