mutual aid societies
Collective assistance groups
Mutual aid societies are organizations whose members pool resources to support one another in times of need—covering medical expenses, funeral costs, unemployment, or other hardships.
They flourished among immigrant communities, labor groups, and fraternal orders before government welfare programs and commercial insurance became widespread: The Italian mutual aid society helped new arrivals find work and housing.
Some persist today, particularly in communities underserved by conventional institutions.
- fraternal organizationsMembership societies emphasizing brotherhood
- chartersDocuments establishing rights
- pooled fundsShared monetary contributions
- community supportCollective assistance from neighbors
- helping handsVoluntary assistance from others
cooperatives · bylaws · neighborhood associations · community kitchen · shared resources · microloans · tontine · guilds · strike fund · solidarity · disaster relief · credit unions · committees · worker cooperatives · membership dues · education funding · dues · grassroots movements
mutual aid societiespublic assistance
Government help for poor
means-tested benefits · noblesse oblige · social security · charity · philanthropy
mutual aid societiesloan sharks
Illegal high-interest lenders
monopolies · corporations · private insurance · Wall Street · venture capital
mutual aid societiessocial Darwinism
Misapplied natural selection to society
rugged individualism · every man for himself · survival of the fittest · self-reliance