Mutual aid is about solidarity, not charity — it’s a form of collective care rooted in the belief that people should have what they need simply because they’re alive. In contrast to capitalist systems that demand proof of worthiness, productivity, or suffering, mutual aid recognizes that scarcity is manufactured, and that communities can meet their own needs when resources are shared freely. At Cupburger, we intentionally don’t means-test or monitor how recipients use the fund. We trust that people know what they need better than any institution does. Our goal is not control — it’s liberation from systems that treat basic survival as a thing to be earned.
For more reading on the principles of Mutual Aid:
Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next),
By Dean Spade
https://www.akpress.org/mutualaidbuildingsolidarity.html
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex,
By INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-revolution-will-not-be-funded
Building Power While the Lights are Out Disasters, Mutual Aid, and Dual Power,
Jimmy Dunson
https://www.akpress.org/building-power-while-the-lights-are-out.html