The New Activistism: Can mutual aid co-operatives succeed where punk resistance failed in the 20th century?

The New Activistism: There’s a telling image from 1984: a scrappy banner reading Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners — a grassroots, cross-class act of solidarity that helped knit two very different communities together at the height of Thatcher’s assault on organised labour. That episode shows what sustained, practical solidarity looks like; it’s also the compass by which we can judge whether today’s mutual-aid co-operatives have the muscle to succeed where earlier cultural resistance (punk among them) often fell short. lgsm.org

Punk: righteous, noisy—and institutionally thin

Punk’s anger at Thatcherism was immediate and morally uncompromising. Bands like Crass and countless DIY scenes channelled a powerful cultural critique—an aesthetic of refusal that exposed authoritarianism, racism and neoliberal encroachment. But cultural revolt is not the same as sustained institutional capacity. Punk’s DIY networks fostered community and produced radical ideas and short-term actions; they rarely matured into long-lived mutual-support structures that could supply food, childcare, legal aid or long-term shelter to the communities they aimed to defend. The movement’s horizontal ethics and emphasis on authenticity sometimes made coalition-building and formal organisation difficult to sustain over decades. Wikipedia+1

This is not to diminish punk’s legacy—far from it. Punk taught tactics (zines, benefit gigs, direct action) and a culture of refusal. But in the face of systematic, state-level restructuring—privatisation, union-busting, benefit retrenchment—cultural critique without institutional scaffolding struggles to protect people’s material needs. Academic studies of punk and culture under Thatcher show the gap between cultural dissent and durable civic infrastructure. ORCA+1

LGSM: the exception that points the way

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) is a critical counterexample from the 1980s. LGSM didn’t only shout slogans: it organised benefit gigs, raised funds, lodged miners in city homes, and built reciprocal political capital that later helped push the Labour movement toward gay-rights policy. That mixture of culture, fundraising, practical logistics and cross-movement solidarity produced tangible, durable outcomes—because it addressed immediate needs while building long-term relationships. It’s a model mutual aid groups aim to emulate. Wikipedia+1

Mutual aid co-operatives today: structure, scale and limits

The mutual-aid surge during COVID-19 was a real stress test. Within days, thousands of local groups formed, coordinating shopping, prescriptions and welfare checks via WhatsApp and Facebook; they filled gaps left by an overstretched or absent state. These were rapid, decentralised, and compassionate responses, demonstrating impressive agility and moral clarity. But rapid volunteer response does not automatically translate into long-term resilience. Researchers and journalists have documented both the strengths and the fatigue-bound limits of pandemic mutual aid: volunteer burnout, funding shortfalls, governance challenges and patchy coverage for the most marginalised. WIRED+2The New Yorker+2

Some mutual aid initiatives have deliberately moved beyond ad hoc volunteerism into durable co-operative forms. Networks like Cooperation Town (community food co-ops) and Radical Routes (a housing and co-op network that dates back to projects formed in the 1980s) show how mutual aid can be institutionalised with shared ownership, governance and sustainable financing. These co-operatives build assets (shops, kitchens, housing), develop governance norms and can persist through leadership turnover—precisely the weaknesses that often hampered punk-style resistance. Mutual Aid+1

LGBTQ+ communities and mutual aid: targeted resilience

LGBTQ+ mutual aid groups (from Pride Mutual Aid projects to locally organised trans mutual aid collectives) are filling crucial gaps—financial, health-related and social—especially for those excluded by mainstream services. These groups are often small, peer-led, and hyper-aware of privacy and safety concerns. They have proven effective at targeted interventions: emergency rent support, safe housing referrals, legal signposting, and mental-health peer support. But analyses also warn that mutual aid alone can’t solve structural discrimination; for trans people in particular, mutual aid has reached its limits in some areas where legal and policy protections are required. The lesson is twofold: mutual aid is necessary and life-saving, but without systemic change and proper funding, it risks becoming a bandage on a structural wound. Consortium+2Instagram+2

Why co-operatives might succeed where punk resistance didn’t

Institutional capacity. Co-ops own assets and create recurrent revenue models (membership, trading, grants), enabling sustained provision beyond ephemeral activism. Radical Routes and community food co-ops exemplify this. radicalroutes.org.uk+1
Deliberate governance. Co-ops use participatory governance—rules, roles, and turnover mechanisms—that preserve collective memory and prevent collapse when founders burn out.
Cross-movement solidarity. LGSM showed the power of linking causes. Modern co-ops that build political alliances (labour, tenant unions, LGBTQ+ networks) can convert immediate relief into policy pressure. lgsm.org
Scalability and localisation. Networks of local co-ops can share best practice, bulk-buy, and provide mutual insurance—advantages a scene-based cultural movement lacks.

The caveats: where mutual aid co-ops still struggle

Resource limits & volunteer fatigue. Long-term mutual provision needs money, paid staff and institutional buffers; relying wholly on volunteers is fragile. Bon Appétit
Political co-option and regulation. Co-ops that become successful can face legal, tax and political pressures; they must navigate relationship with the state while retaining autonomy.
Uneven coverage. Mutual aid often follows where activists already live; the most isolated or stigmatized communities can be missed unless networks intentionally reach them. Studies of pandemic mutual aid flagged these gaps. GCU Research Online

Conclusion — hope anchored to capacity

Punk’s value was cultural: it shifted discourse, exposed hypocrisy, and seeded tactics. But cultural insurgency alone has structural limits. Mutual-aid co-operatives offer a different pathway: they combine the DIY ethics and solidarity lessons of punk with governance, assets and the capacity to persist. LGSM’s 1984 example demonstrates that intersectional, practical solidarity can reshape politics. The mutual-aid co-operative movement today has many of the tools to succeed where punk’s cultural critique could not—provided it secures steady resources, builds durable governance, and intentionally forms cross-class and cross-movement alliances that turn short-term help into long-term change. lgsm.org+2radicalroutes.org.uk+2