Living for future, we need today

Prefiguration is at times made out to be a strategy for privileged conscientious objectors wanting to wash their hands of society. However, prefigurative politics have a long history in the global south as an anti-colonial, and today anti-neoliberal, tactic. In this poster I summarize the Kenyan Peasants League’s theory of prefiguration and demonstrate how it relates to Huey P. Newton’s theory of intercommunalism, hereby looking at prefiguration through the lens of gender, class and (neo-)colonial positionalities. The Kenyan Peasants League is a Kenyan social movement of peasants, fishers, pastoralists and consumers and is a part of the global peasants movement La Vía Campesina.

The Kenyan Peasants League’s prefiguration is motivated by, first, the needs of their communities, as they are trying to survive pending revolution. Second, by an intersectional and multi-scalar analysis of the current global food system and its impact on their communities, which concludes that prefiguration is a strong strategy to attaining their goals. Third, by the pedagogical aspects of prefiguration when it comes to creating a new world.

This contribution is based on a chapter of my PhD thesis, which is based on a Participatory Action Research collaboration with the Kenyan Peasants league.

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