Word: autonomy - ɔːˈtɒnəmi Noun (plural autonomies) mass noun
- 1 the right or condition of self-government.
- count noun a self-governing country or region.
- freedom from external control or influence;
- 2 (in Kantian moral philosophy) the capacity of an agent to act in accordance with objective morality rather than under the influence of desires.
Autonomy embodies a radical break from hierarchical systems of power and control, emphasizing self-determination and communal governance.
Tracing its diverse meanings and practices across history and political movements, rather than a single notion, autonomy emerges as plural — encompassing struggles that challenge capitalism, industrialism, western modernity, and patriarchy. Distinguishing autonomy from individualist libertarianism and state-centric socialism, this entry focuses on autonomic movements that prioritize collective self-governance and radical democracy. Drawing from Indigenous, feminist, and anti-capitalist struggles, these movements go beyond formal democracy, seeking to dismantle the state while constructing grassroots power based on the principles of Mandar Obedeciendo. Autonomy also challenges economic society’s premise of scarcity, replacing it with sufficiency, and disassociates from western modernity’s values, embracing pluralism and relational understandings of personhood. Feminist autonomies center care, dignity, and life itself. Highlighting examples such as the Zapatistas and Mexico’s National Indigenous Congress, the essay presents autonomy as a global, ongoing process of reimagining social, political, and economic life from the ground up.
