As we have seen in the previous pages, things can’t go on in the same way. The crisis which has already appeared in the light of day is not a passing phenomenon, but rather such a profound change that is very unlikely to be resolved by the very system that produced it: capitalism.

Having suffered its consequences, it’s easy to say what we don’t want. However, to continue advancing and to overcome the obstacles which are placed before us, we have to know in what direction we are going.
More and more people are aware of that, and help plant the seeds of another possible world, just as the existing world makes itself more and more impossible.

In order not to depend on capitalism, the alternative society is being built on the basis of autonomy, cutting off links with corporations and state institutions, and reinforcing links with the local neighbourhood, so as to rebuild relations in the community.

This new society is also built on the basis of self management, that is to say, dividing the power of decision making and the work among all the people involved, avoiding hierarchies and giving mutual support.

And how is this new society being conceived here and now? As the poet Antonio Machado said: “Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar” (“Walker, there is no path, we make the path by walking.”)
Theory is being made from practice, and this practice depends on everybody.

If you want to control your own life yourself, you can start by incorporating ways of living it as you’d like to live. If you want to feel supported, you can find other people with whom you share this way of living. If you want to strengthen and develop the collective, you can take on commitments, and give them the importance they deserve and the time they need. If things don’t turn out as you expected, you can learn the lessons and continue experimenting. When you wish to share experiences and/or look for connections with other groups, you can meet up with those you have nearest to you and with those who are working on related issues. When all these collectives of people can sustain ourselves from the work we do for each other, we will be making a reality of the alternative society.

So, build another society here and now: that is a vision of political action which tries to go beyond protesting, not limiting ourselves to asking the politicians to bring change; removing their words from the centre of attention of our political action and replacing them with our own abilities, and with them promote a direct and effective social transformation, a transformation within our reach which can serve as a model to learn and show in practice the type of world that we want to build.
This form of transformation is being organised from below, on the basis of concrete experiences which resolve, directly and independently of government and private/market channels, the basic necessities of each person and of the community, in fundamental issues like housing, food, education, work, health and leisure, among others.

We will now go more deeply into some of the projects which are already functioning.