The Really, Really Free Market Is a Revolutionary Yard Sale

Photo from the Really, Really Free Market Facebook page.

The Really, Really Free Market is a really, really big fuck-you to the free market. On the first Sunday of every month in Anaheim, CA, the anti-capitalist yard sale takes place in parks around the city, a free-for-all flea market where patrons are encouraged to give away free stuff or take the things they need. Clothing, electronics, art, games, children’s toys and books – all the typical flea market fare is welcome. They also host a potluck, inviting people to bring free food and partake in a yard sale picnic. But if you have no physical items to give away, you can just bring your skills and contribute a free haircut or a free sewing class.

On their Facebook page, the organizers write that the Really, Really Free Market is a “a horizontally-organized collective of individuals who form a temporary market based on an alternative gift economy” and that one of their primary goals is to “build a community based on sharing.” The organizers reach out to the local homeless community and park visitors to let them know about their stalls. Founder Liz Zuñiga, who started the Really, Really Free Market two and a half years ago, told the OC Weekly, “Sometimes people come up to us and say, ‘Wait, is this really free?’ or they ask ‘Oh, can I take this?’” The spirit echoes that of other efforts around the country like the Brooklyn Free Store, a weekly event in Bedstuy.

The Really, Really Free Market group implements its revolutionary principles in other ways as well, organizing for protests against police violence and to end deportation. The Weekly writes that the collective is comprised of a group of young puck kids and activists “poised to be the next generation of activists ready to confront the city’s ever-worsening political scene.” Anaheim sits east of the Los Angeles County line, in Orange County, which has a reputation for being stringently conservative, although in recent years there has been evidence of a liberal wave. Bipartisan politics have thrown class divisions into sharp relief, and recent real estate development plans and instances of police brutality have bolstered a progressive movement.