democracy
[Book] Radical Democracy: Recovering the Roots of Self-Government & Autonomy
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In the face of escalating crises—climate collapse, widening economic inequities, and the entrenched power of neoliberal states—the quest for radical democracy and autonomy has never been more urgent. It is in this convulsing global terrain that the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (GTA) emerged in 2019, as a network of grassroots groups, social movements, and communities (especially in the Global South) working together to imagine, enact, and defend alternatives to the dominant political-economic order. Through its horizontal structure, knowledge-sharing practices, and emphasis on ecological sustainability, economic democracy, indigenous rights, and participatory governance, GTA offers an evolving guide for those seeking paths beyond extraction, oppression, and hierarchy.
This compilation gathers stories of radical democracy and autonomy precisely to contribute to that lifeline. The essays and narratives collected here are not abstract theorizing—they are grounded experiments and lived realities: communities practicing self‐governance; indigenous collectives reclaiming land, culture, and decision‐making; solidarities forged across borders resisting extractivism and marginalization. Each story reflects one of the core objectives of the GTA: networking and solidarity; knowledge sharing; amplifying alternative models; and fostering systemic transformation. By drawing these diverse threads into dialogue, this book aims to strengthen the tapestry, offering both inspiration and critical reflection for practitioners, activists, scholars, and anyone yearning to reimagine democracy not merely as a form of government but as a lived, relational, morally grounded process of autonomy.
As you turn these pages, you will sense a common insistence: that autonomy is inseparable from democratic participation, that radical democracy demands more than procedural reform—it demands transformation in how power, resources, and decision‐making are organized. These stories, spanning different geographies, cultures, and challenges, together affirm the vitality and multiplicity of alternative futures already in motion. May this collection serve as a bridge—across continents, across movements, across knowledges—within the GTA, both to honour what has been achieved and to stir what remains possible.
Credits
Franco Augusto and Shrishtee Bajpai edited this booklet report.
Design, Layout & Illustrations were created by Franco Augusto using free open-source software tools.
EZLN: It Is not a Single Person’s Decision
It Is not a Single Person’s Decision
November 2016
For the [l@s] racists:
Well, we’ve been reading and listening to everything you’ve been saying and writing.
We’ve seen all of your mockery, your scorn, the racism that you can no longer hide.
I believe that the compañeros and especially the compañeras of the National Indigenous Congress [CNI] are also reading and listening to what you say.
It’s clear that the CNI was right about what they thought and what they told us, that there is a lot of racism in society.
I imagine you amuse and applaud each other over what a good joke you made with your leftist mockery about the EZLN’s “candigata.”[i]
You celebrate your machismo making fun of indigenous women.
You say that we ‘fucking Indians’ let ourselves be manipulated, are unable to think for ourselves, and go like sheep wherever the shepherd points.
But I think when you say this you are actually looking in the mirror.
