To build radical movements, you need radical spaces, argues Arun Gupta, who looks at the important roles San Diego's Ché Café and Brooklyn's Mayday Space play in their communities.
Over time, as the market has extended its tendrils into all parts of daily life, radical spaces have disappeared in much of U.S. society.
In the late 19th century, agrarian grange halls and entire utopian communities were commonplace. Decades later, labor temples, radical coffeehouses, theaters, publishers, bars and bookstores had their heyday along with socialist and communist halls and camps.
While you can still find radical spaces in many college campuses, union halls and cultural spaces, they are all under siege, save perhaps those hosted by progressive religious outfits.
