Re-Organise

In short: This trio of booklets is a new benchmark for materials for nascent organisers and seasoned comrades both. They provide an array of valuable lessons which will prove useful for anyone working to establish a cooperative or similar. The series is full of tips, advice, and lessons various which I hope become every bit as much of our default mode. If you’re looking to set something up, read these booklets.

Developed by the Loughborough University Cooperative Organisation Development Programme (LUCOOP) and published by Dog Section Press, this short series is one of the most accessable educational resources I’ve ever come across for those looking to get a grounding in how and why we use cooperative structures. Written in a clear and concise tone which manages to breeze through the often difficult task of conveying complex information without being patronising, Re-Organise makes it’s arguments with a direct tone which slices through each topic without treading water. This is made all the more digestible by the layout which skips between block text, isolated boxes to provide qoutes or specific lessons, and conversations between some well known anarchist faces.

The first booklet “Power” addresses the issue at the heart of any social movement, the very nature of “power” and the dynamics that flow from it’s misuse. First building a frame work by discussing what “power” is on an individual and organisational levels and how it is weilded for capital benefit before addressing how cooperative structures manifest power differently.

The second booklet “Governance” looks into how we form the framework of our organisations, from legal and procedual issues, to dealing with social divisons and managaing task allocation. This will probably turn up the nose of our more insurrectionary compas, however that will still be plenty to take home even then.

The third and final booklet is “Strategy”. It provides some very practicable lessons on the workflow of a new cooprative, from building a shared vision to those first tentitive steps. It’s a refresher even more established groups might want to run through. We can only benefit from restating our assumptions and developing our operational method.

Dog section and LUCOOP, along with designer Matt Bonner (www.revoltdesigns.com) have put together a fantastic series here. While not the densest of works, these are the materials that will get people thinking like anarchists and starting to engage with their own power and sense of autonomy. Re-Organise is something you could pass on to everyone from your sparkie pal whose just poking his nose into this ol’ Anarchism lark to the most ardent street organiser. My only minor critism is that it’d be easier to share as a single work, at 40-ish pages after trimming the repeated section, it’d still be quite compact. Regardless, I’d be surprised if Re-Organise didn’t become as ubitquitous on the shelves of infoshops and social centres as No Comment. Excellent stuff. ■

Buy Re-Organise from www.dogsection.org or start reading it today online, and for free, at www.issuu.com/dogsectionpress.