Solidarity isn’t just a feeling or moral principle. It’s the practical system that helps people take risks together.
In “Solidarity Is Not a Feeling,” Scot Nakagawa argues that people decide whether to resist injustice based largely on whether they believe they’ll face the consequences alone.
Authoritarian systems exploit fear by:
- isolating individuals,
- making resistance costly, and
- discouraging collective action.
To counter this, movements need to build five kinds of solidarity before a crisis occurs:
- financial support,
- legal defense networks,
- institutional alliances,
- rapid-response visibility systems, and
- psychological support.
History shows that successful movements…
- are decentralized,
- build trust across communities before it’s needed, and
- connect political threats to people’s everyday lives.
The central message: effective solidarity is organized, funded, practiced, and ready before it’s needed — not improvised after a crisis begins.
Summarized from “Solidarity Is Not a Feeling” by Scot Nakagawa, The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook, June 21, 2026.