Liberalism Got Us Here, Liberation Will Free Us

Liberalism has played its role in bringing us to this point, but what we continue to learn from social movements is that liberation will ultimately free us.

The impacts of the recent US elections have given way to a sinister reality, which is crystallizing at breakneck speed: escalating authoritarianism, the clampdown on free speech, disappearances of activists, further erosion of human rights, deportation of immigrants and refugees without due process. Even as of writing, we are seeing a terrorizing military offensive unleashed on people taking to the streets in defense of themselves and their neighbors. These trends are likely to increase.

This complex reality has a historical precedent in the United States, which cannot be attributed simply to an election. Despite the US’s proclamations of freedom and democracy, this moment exposes the violence encoded throughout all aspects of a country founded on enslavement, theft, genocide, and exploitation.

The current ICE kidnappings of immigrants and refugees are reminiscent of the mass expulsions of Mexican and Mexican-American laborers in both the 1930s and 1954, which were widely condemned for human rights violations. Attacks on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) are reminiscent of the ongoing history of racial discrimination and unequal structures that are inextricably rooted in chattel slavery and remain unremedied, perpetuating systemic inequality.

As we dialogue with our US movement allies and grantee partners, we are hearing critical questions arise: Are we prepared to meet the demands of the moment? How can we go beyond a mere “return to normal”? Greater clarity might lie in the key distinction between liberalism and liberation, which shapes how we understand what the problems are, as well as their solutions. This piece is an exploration of this distinction and its possible implications, based on learnings from US movements.

Liberalism, Individualism, and Nonprofits

Though many people genuinely concerned with equality and justice may think of themselves as liberals, liberalism is a political ideology based on individual actions and free market capitalism. It emerged from and is compatible with our existing social structures, addressing injustices as flaws in our current system, rather than as inherent to the system’s very functioning. As such, it tends to focus on reforming or taming the current system while maintaining it at all costs, rather than undertaking transformation.

In the US, nonprofit organizations have historically functioned as instruments of liberalism, focusing on charity and social services, providing direct assistance to individuals and families facing difficulties. Meanwhile, projects aimed at changing the systems, policies, and structures that have created or sustained these disparities tend to be perpetually underfunded. This, in effect, neutralizes the power of and diverts resources away from resistance movements led by people of color, ultimately leading to the capture of these movements.

A potent example of this trend comes from the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, amid lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides, Robert F. Kennedy (Sr.) told young civil rights leader James Farmer, “If you cut out all this Freedom Rider and sitting-in stuff and concentrate on voter registration, I’ll get you a tax exemption.” Wealthy donors persuaded the NAACP to change course from organizing against lynching and anti-Black violence to Black education to receive funding. The NAACP’s work on education advanced necessary civil rights changes in public policy, but the shift in direction redirected the focus to a more palatable issue, which warrants some reflection.

Under liberalism, US movements have been hampered by an “NGO-ization of movement work,” which we understand as the nonprofit industrial complex (NPIC). The NPIC is a “set of symbiotic relationships that link political and financial technologies of state and owning class control with surveillance over public political ideology, including and especially emergent progressive and leftist social movements”.¹  Nonprofits have channeled activist energies into “career-based modes of organizing” instead of mass mobilization of affected people that transform society and have encouraged social movements to replicate capitalist structures rather than challenge them. Many of the social justice mechanisms for change in the US have been implemented through nonprofit organizations and liberal government policies. These mechanisms have pacified and posed serious barriers to more transformative movements that seek to dismantle oppressive structures and build a better world. This is also a point for rigorous self-reflection for those of us who work within this sector.

Additionally, individualism as a paradigm permeating all of our systems has kept movements focused on transactional change, emphasizing behavior and tangible outcomes that can be counted and measured, rather than the significance of people engaging in actions that build their collective power. In such times, individuals might protect themselves, capitulate to save their position, or be silent instead of speaking up. This can contribute to a comfort of cowardice: so-called democratic institutions and leaders who capitulate, like universities that willingly participate in the abduction, disappearance, and deportation of students speaking out against the genocide in Gaza and for the rights of Palestinians.

Liberation Practices and Collective Struggle

Fortunately, both historically and currently, the US has grassroots organizing models that serve as pathways to freedom. Grassroots International’s partners and allies exemplify this through liberation practices that center on deep organizing/power building, mutual aid, community defense, healing, wellbeing, and international solidarity.

Mutual aid, such as farmers and communities working together as prices of both food and farm inputs rise due to corporate greed, is an example of this resistance. Addressing collective needs fosters relationships, addresses the urgency of the moment, and helps reimagine the future. The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, building upon a long legacy of organizing Black farmers in the South through liberatory principles, exemplifies this, particularly during times of crisis. For example, following the hurricanes last fall, it issued small grants to its member farmers in Florida to help cover additional household expenses, such as utilities and medical bills, while supporting its farmers in distributing food under a “farmers are first responders” platform.

Community protection is an essential expression of self-determination, with affected people asserting their solutions to protect each other from the harm of racist attacks, exploitation, and extraction. This is critical during times of escalating fascism and authoritarianism. The Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) is raising awareness about the threats posed by artificial intelligence to affordable housing, clean water, etc. and the increased militarization of frontline communities through racially biased facial recognition. They are building collective capacity for digital security and tech infrastructure through training and political education.

As we grapple with the political and structural realities under increased authoritarianism, the psychological impacts are equally critical. Healing from the trauma, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion is a necessary strategy for resistance, especially when the trauma is ongoing. The Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJ) launched a People’s Care Agenda campaign that centers the well-being of frontline communities. This includes divestment from the systems that cause harm, like prisons and policing, to investing in a feminist economy that prioritizes the care, well-being, and immediate needs of the most vulnerable.

Palestinian-led organizations are leading the way to build public will to shift from complicity in war and profit to solidarity for the needs of people to live freely with dignity. They are making visible how our government’s investment in a war economy that is funding the genocide in Gaza is a danger to all of us. For example, an increasing number of US taxpayers oppose the genocide in Gaza (53 percent), and the US invests $17 billion in weapons that could instead be used to feed, house, provide healthcare, and educate the most vulnerable communities. The contradiction between the needs of a people and the actions of their government immediately raises questions about how we deliver on a vision for real change and actual freedom.

What these examples reflect is that liberation is a collective struggle. While liberalism has served a purpose, its primary focus on individual actions and reform has limited its effectiveness as a viable solution for the current moment. Liberation is a crucial framework for achieving freedom, fostering solidarity, and driving transformative change. The institutions and systems of domination will only be dismantled, reimagined, and transformed when the people work together to create a world on their terms. Working for long-term liberation and unwaveringly rooted in that vision and politics, we must all build — with the most vulnerable at the center — a broad anti-authoritarian united front.