What's left in the community? Oppositional politics in contemporary practice

The growth of community-based not-for-profits in the Anglo-American world has been mirrored by weakened political demands and a diminished set of critical political perspectives. Nevertheless, significant efforts in Anglo-American communities still exist and provide examples of community-based organizing that have not lost sight of the goals of social and economic justice. This article explores practice examples that demonstrate the existence and possibilities of politically oppositional community organizing in the current difficult and complex political economy. These examples present effective, if imperfect, community initiatives. The three discussed - The Fifth Avenue Committee, ACORN, and Immigrant Worker Centres - offer alternatives to contemporary forms of community practice moderated by economic globalization and the policies of neo-liberalism. The article ends by drawing lessons from these experiences and their potential in the contemporary political economy.