About RI

Radical Islington Guidelines

This blog belongs to a group called Radical Islington. RI exists to help further resistance to capitalism and help make links between fragmented groups and individuals in Islington and beyond.  It is a collective where people can come together to organise and share information.

We try not to get distracted by debating on theory, but we think it’s important to have some shared principles and core beliefs to inform our decisions on actions.

Radical Islington – In short

We believe in:

• Equality and mutual respect
• People being in control of their own lives
• Self-organisation

We are against:

• Capitalism, class-systems, and all types of hierarchy
• Parliamentary ‘democracy’ and Local Council representation

How we work:

• We organise as equals, without hierarchies or power structures
• We have monthly meetings where we aim for consensus
• We share information and try to support each other
• We welcome others who don’t want to be part of a group but who do want to contribute occasionally, or on certain issues.

What we believe in

We would like to see a non-capitalist classless society of mutual respect, without hierarchies of power, where people are in control of their own lives, take care of each other and the environment, and have time to enjoy life.

Resources should be shared equitably, based on need not greed.

We believe that most people are capable of deciding and organising for themselves, if given the chance.

We are self-organised and do not expect or want anyone to ‘represent’ us. We are against the parliamentary ‘democratic’ system of representation as well as Local Councils.  When we do use representation it must be accountable, temporary, recallable, and not give anyone privileges/money/resources.

How we relate to people around us helps shape society, so we try to form compassionate, equal and supportive relationships with others.

Our approach

We seek active involvement in struggles as they arise, provide practical support for workplace and community struggles in Islington when we can, and initiate actions when we think they are necessary and will have impact.  Examples of issues that we may work on are: benefits, health, education, immigration, housing, bailiffs, war and the destruction of our environment and communities.

Authoritarian groups are primarily interested in their own organisations and pushing party lines. We think that people should control their own struggles and not have them controlled by bureaucrats or political parties of any shade.  We want power or control for everyone, not just individuals or groups of people.

We think small victories can help us to believe that we can all, and not just those in power, change society. These victories can give people strength and be fun. We support both the actions of just a few people, as well as mass actions.

Islington has a radical past and we can learn from, and be inspired by, the history of local struggles as well as national and international ones.

How we work as a group

We organise as equals: against all power relationships and hierarchies set up between us.  No one has status by virtue of their race, colour, religion, gender, age, culture, wealth, education, sexuality, disability, or any other feature used to identify people as part of one group or another.

We aim to create a culture of creativity, idea sharing, and critical analysis.

All major decisions are made at our monthly meetings, by consensus wherever possible.  If we cannot reach consensus and get agreement to act as a group (including by using majority vote as a last resort – if everyone agrees to it), then individuals in the group can co-operate to take initiatives with each other under a different name.

We aim to strengthen links between ourselves and support each other; to keep each other informed, pool information, share ideas; and to socialise together at picnics, gigs, radical history walks etc and have fun together. This is a small but vital way to combat the inequality and oppression that results from capitalism and systems of power.

We welcome anyone holding similar positions to us to come to our meetings, regardless of whether they want to be part of Radical Islington or whether they want to suggest, collaborate, or take part in, a particular action.

How to keep in touch and find out more

We have an internal discussion list – people can join the list after coming to a meeting

We have a contact email list – people can join this list to receive our general mailings

We have meetings on the third Monday of every month at 7pm.  Email us for details at radicalislington[AT]alphabetthreat.co.uk