Mutual aid stands in contrast to large bureaucratic assistance structures (such as governmental and nongovernmental organizations) in that it provides relief in an informal, decentralized, nonhierarchic, and reciprocal manner (Beito, 2000), versus top-down approaches to helping. This ideological departure from traditional aid structures is communicated by the slogan solidarity not charity used in recent mutual aid movements (Spade, 2020a). Spade (2020a) recognized that providing for one another through coordinated collective care is radical and generative, highlighting both what is possible through mutual aid care structures and the reality that formal government systems designed to provide support consistently fail to adequately do so. (92)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, mutual aid has proliferated as a care practice when traditional systems have consistently fallen short. And whereas mutual aid has traditionally existed at the margins of society among people of color, LGBTQ communities, those immigrating to the United States, and others underserved and unserved by government systems, the margins are widening as the needs of more people go unmet. Although mutual aid has often prevailed during acute short-term crises, as the pandemic has worn on, mutual aid organizers have been challenged to provide more sustained and long-term assistance. (94)
Mutual aid reminds people that systems designed to provide support to individuals (such as governments and nongovernmental organizations) may fail to support their survival in deeply consequential ways, especially for communities that face ongoing systemic oppression and marginalization. (91)