Ahmed al-Tahrawi reviews The Solidarity Economy: A Visual Guide (Dog Section Press, 2024, £8).

The Solidarity Economy is an admirable contribution in the fight to resist the violence of austerity and lay the foundations for a better world (interest declaration: I paid into the Kickstarter). The pocket-sized book from Dog Section Press is filled with clear explanations and examples of how to organise from below. It should be relevant to organisers of various tendencies, emphasising the strength of mutual aid practices which have risen to the fore in recent years. There are chapters on everything from Community Land Trusts to Workers’ Councils. The historical and contemporary real-life cases described are especially inspiring for looking beyond the narrow confines of governance as currently offered in the Global North.

The authors have worked hard to make the text accessible, distilling broad ideas into short, clear sections that are easy to get your teeth into. However, despite the popping colours and decent production value, the book unfortunately falls down on its visuals. The subtitle is ‘A Visual Guide’; it is nothing of the sort. I expected infographics and comics in the vein of the Introducing Books Graphic Guides, or David Smith and Phil Evans’s excellent Marx’s Capital Illustrated. The Solidarity Economy simply has a lot of text with the odd image thrown in, and the clashing colours and fonts actually make it hard on the eyes. It’s a shame that this should be the case when the text is so engaging. There are also no page numbers. A great wee resource, but an opportunity missed.