We are announcing the formation of Autonomy & Solidarity – a political network of discussion and activism for revolutionary activists. Autonomy & Solidarity is an exploratory network and political space for socialists, anarchists and anti-capitalists who believe that revolutionary transformation will come from exploited and oppressed people self-organizing from below and not from the top down organizing of any state, party or union bureaucracy. Our name comes from our support for the autonomous struggles of workers and the oppressed, and from our belief in building forms of solidarity that address all forms of oppression and exploitation.

We are active in various anti-poverty, anti-war/occupation, feminist, union, queer liberation and anti-racist movements and coalitions. We also organize discussion groups, public forums and skills workshops, and produce materials and resources to develop and share our politics. Our goal is to develop theory and practice collectively in order to extend our individual capacities and to make better contributions to the movements in which we are active.

We seek to develop the anti-capitalist practices and networks that emerged through our anti-globalization, anti-war and anti-poverty movements. We support direct action and mass struggle, and are committed to decentralized, non-hierarchical forms of organizing. We are also internationalists and want to make connections with progressive and revolutionary movements around the world.

Developing transformative anti-oppression politics is central to our politics. We support the autonomous struggles of women, people of colour, gays and lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals, transgender and intersex people, young people, people living with disabilities, and indigenous people inside the Canadian State and around the world. We also seek a politics of responsibility for white people to challenge white supremacy, for men to challenge masculine privilege and patriarchy, and for those identifying as heterosexual to challenge relations of heterosexual privilege.

Autonomy & Solidarity seeks to initiate a wide-ranging process of political debate and elaboration. We are supporters of revolutionary pluralism, a political and organizational practice that views non-sectarian debates and discussions amongst revolutionaries from various backgrounds as healthy and generative. Autonomy & Solidarity provides us with a political network through which to explore the questions and debates that have been raised within the new anti-capitalist movements.

Autonomy & Solidarity is comprised of collectives and activists based in Toronto, Sudbury, Hamilton, Guelph, Vancouver and other locations. We look forward to hearing from other radicals who share our political perspectives and who are interested in participating in common projects or in becoming part of our network of collectives. You can contact us at auto_sol@tao.ca and visit us on-line at http://auto_sol.tao.ca.