Really Really Free Market

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Really Really Free Market organized by Autonomous Athens in Athens, GA on Mayday 2007.

The Really, Really Free Market (RRFM) movement is a non-hierarchical collective of individuals who form a temporary market based on an alternative gift economy.[1] The RRFM movement aims to counteract capitalism in a non-reactionary way. It holds as a major goal to build a community based on sharing resources, caring for one another and improving the collective lives of all. Markets often vary in character, but they generally offer both goods and services. Participants bring unneeded items, food, skills and talents such as entertainment or haircuts. A RRFM may take place in an open community space such as a public park or community commons.

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[edit] Origins and spread

Items laid out on a tarp at the Really Really Free Market at Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.

Participants from the SouthEast Anarchist Network (SeaNET)[2] held demonstrations using the first known Really, Really Free Market to protest the G8 summit. The first known Really, Really Free Market took place simultaneously in Miami, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina during the anti-globalization protests against the FTAA in 2004.[3] The idea quickly spread across the United States.

The movement has emerged in diverse places such as North Carolina; New York City; Reno, Nevada; Cottage Grove, Oregon; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Belfast, New York, Tallahassee, Florida as well as Capital Park in Detroit on the third Sunday of January, April, July and October. RRFMs occur in the San Francisco Bay Area as well. North Carolina has an especially vibrant RRFM movement, with markets appearing in cities such as Wilmington, Raleigh, Greensboro and Greenville.[4]

In addition, New York City[5]; Greenville, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Carrboro, North Carolina; Washington, DC; San Francisco, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Richmond, Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana are home to monthly Really Really Free Markets. San Francisco's RRFM takes place the Last Saturday of Every Month in Dolores Park. Minneapolis' RRFM takes place on the second Saturday of every month. DC holds one the third Saturday of every month. Dayton's is held the first Sunday of every month in the community garden on East 5th Street. Wilmington's RRFM is held the first Sunday of each month at noon near 4th and Castle St downtown. DC's RRFM is held the third Saturday of every month in Dupont Circle. Grand Rapids, Michigan's RRFM is held the last Sunday of every month. Reno, Nevada's Really Really Free Market is held the first Sunday of every month in Barbara Bennett park. Athens, GA witnessed its first RRFM on April 28th, 2007 as part of the May Day celebrations organized by Autonomous Athens.[6] It has since become a monthly occurrence with event attendance usually in the hundreds. In Toronto, Ontario, the first Really Really Free Market has sprung up, starting in March of 2009.

[edit] See also

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Really Really Free Market

[edit] References

  1. ^ CrimethInc.. "The Really Really Free Market: Instituting the Gift Economy". Rolling Thunder (4). http://www.crimethinc.com/texts/atoz/reallyreally.php. Retrieved on 2008-12-09. 
  2. ^ "SouthEast Anarchist Network". http://www.anarcha.org/seanet/main.php. 
  3. ^ Simpich, Bill (June 7, 2004). "Really REALLY Free Market Report". San Francisco Bay Area Indymedia. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2004/06/07/16839171.php. 
  4. ^ "Carrboro's 'Really, Really Free Market'". http://www.carrboro.com/reallyreallyfreemarket/. 
  5. ^ Moynihan, Colin (January 28, 2009). "East Village Market Where Everything Is Free Faces an Uncertain Future". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/nyregion/29free.html?_r=1&em. 
  6. ^ Aued, Blake (October 2, 2007). "New market really, really free". Athens Banner-Herald. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/100207/news_20071002051.shtml/. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Really_Really_Free_Market"
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