Revolutionary Ethics and Carceral Abolitionism: Ambivalences in Chicago Mutual Aid

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to rampant anti-Black police violence, informal mutual aid networks have sprouted up around the world to help where the state and capitalism failed: providing aid to those most in need and building solidarity between all kinds of people in a local area. This article examines ambivalence in Chicago mutual aid practices through a collaborative ethnographic lens. In the first section of this article, I explore the ideals of Chicago mutual aid networks, which involve an abolitionist, intersectional, and prefigurative ethos aimed at creating "solidarity, not charity." Unfortunately, the mutual aid networks in Chicago have had difficulty living out this ethos fully. In the second section, I discuss three factors which prevent the networks from living out their ideals: 1) “Good Politics” lead to a culture of burnout, 2) capitalist space and gentrification condition who is welcome in the group, 3) technology and social practices alienate those unfamiliar with them. In the conclusion, I discuss parallels to Savannah Shange's "carceral progressivism" and outline some potential solutions