This Saturday Manchester residents are invited to subvert the normal mode of economic transactions by attending the Free Shop.

People are requested to bring along any unwanted but still useful items they may have in order to donate and swap with others – free from the exchange of currency. The idea behind the shop is that people can acquire and dispose of a vast range of goods – from clothes to computer parts, literature and artwork to toys – without contributing to unnecessary production or waste.

The event is intended to promote the Manchester Social Collective, a group which for several months has been planning and trying to put into action a new radical and autonomous political space for the city. Such a venue, the collective hopes, will create a radical hub for community activism, enabling groups to hold meetings and events at low costs as well as providing a nucleus for resource and skill-sharing. Manchester’s last permanent social centre, The Basement, closed in 2007 due to extensive flooding to the building where it was based.

Steve of the collective told MULE: “A free shop is just one example of the many things that could be permanent parts of a social centre.

“This one-off free shop is a challenge to the commercial culture that dominates public space in a capitalistic society.”

The shop also will indirectly aim to highlight the wastefulness of an economic system which relies on constant production of goods where already functioning or useful ones are still in existence. The anti-consumerism philosophy which underpins it is cited as many activists as a form of resistance to capitalist modes of production and its corollary of exploitation.

The organisers are hopeful that the stop will prove to be successful, and the first of many.

“If we end up with more stuff than we started with, we may well have another free in a few weeks,” said Steve.

The Free Shop will take place on Market Street, somewhere in between TK Maxx and HMV from 1-5pm. There may be a change of location if the weather is bad. Call or text 07539 754529 on the day for more information.

To find out more about the Manchester Social Centre Collective visit their website: http://www.manchestersocialcentre.org/