“What is an assemblage? It is a multiplicity which is made up of many heterogeneous terms and which establishes liaisons, relations between them… The assemblage’s only unity is that of co-functioning: it is a symbiosis, a ‘sympathy’.” (Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus)
If solidarity is emergent, then: it cannot be declared into existence; it cannot be willed by ideology alone; and it cannot be guaranteed by shared beliefs.
It must be built – through organizing forms; through material arrangements; through temporal rhythms; and through shared exposure to risk and consequence.
Solidarity is not a moral appeal; it’s a structural achievement. x
More moments from Abby Martin’s Seattle premiere.
The night was electric and the message was clear: end empire or end the world.
Where will you stand? x
Solidarity is not a feeling people bring with them into struggle, but a collective capacity that emerges when heterogeneous actors are assembled into durable relations that make cooperation materially possible and politically effective.
Prior agreement, shared identity, and moral commitment are definitely helpful, but solidarity is ultimately made or broken through the organization of differences into synergetic roles and practices. At the end of the day, solidarity is measured by what a collective can endure – what we accomplish together under pressure, not the intensity of our shared beliefs.
Solidarity is built up brick by brick: stable infrastructure, regular maintenance, and iterative feedback over time. These are truths our enemies have absorbed long ago; it’s high time that we learn them too. x