Principles & Politics

Freedonia is inspired and shaped by anti-authoriatian principles and politics.  From our organizational structure to our everyday operations, to how we make decisions and what those decisions are, we are guided by a commitment to certain values. While by no means an exhaustive list, our guiding principles and core values include: 

Equality – All people are equal and deserve to be treated as such. In practice, this entails an opposition to all forms of domination, oppression, and exploitation including (but not limited to): white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, heteropatriarchy, transphobia, and ableism. 

Mutual Aid – Individual well-being is connected to the well-being of others, and it is cooperation (not competition) that best serves humanity. A reciprocal relationship of collective care, it implies providing support and assistance to each other according to ability and need.

Autonomy – The freedom of an individual or group to make decisions that directly impact them, and see these decisions through without interference from external forces. This applies to personal desires, as well as community aspirations, and entails individual and collective empowerment and self-governance. 

Prefiguration – Means and ends are connected. The form that an organization or project takes has an impact on outcomes, and so we must prefigure the world we want to build. For example, if we desire a world without hierarchy in the future, we must organize non-hierarchically in the present. 

Direct Action – Activities through which people take social change into their own hands, and seek to achieve their goals by acting (rather than asking). This means types of action that strive to solve a problem, address an issue, or rectify a situation without petitioning to a “higher” authority.

Solidarity – Exemplified by the classic adage “No one is free until we are free”. A recognition of the interconnectedness of struggles and an understanding that liberation is collective or not at all. It is a commitment to show-up for others, while ensuring those most-impacted are centre stage.