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Building Local Power. Fighting Corporate Control.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a national research and advocacy organization that partners with allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities, accountable to people and the planet.
The annual Arts and Crafts Street Fair with vendors selling food, gifts and art products along main street Sherman Avenue, and through city park in the lakefront tourist resort town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.… Read More
The annual Arts and Crafts Street Fair — Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

What is Local Self-Reliance?

Local self-reliance means that we, the people, are free to exercise power over our lives — how we provide for our families, how resources are shared and allocated in our communities, and how decisions are made by government, corporations, and businesses because it affects all of us.

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  • Our Focus

    We believe that democracy can only thrive when economic and political power is widely dispersed. ILSR works to achieve this vision through four key initiatives that center local communities, giving citizens the authority, capacity, and responsibility to exercise power over their lives.
    Midwest Forum on Fair Markets hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Open Markets Institute. https://ilsr.org/midwest-forum-on-fair-markets/… Read More
    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks at the Midwest Forum on Fair Markets hosted by ILSR and Open Markets Institute

    Get the Tools You Need to Fight Back at the State and Local Levels

    Too often, policymakers try to alleviate symptoms. We’ve created a guide of local and state policies for dealing with the root problem. Centralization of power in private hands didn’t happen by accident; it’s not the result of inevitable forces. It’s a product of deliberate policy choices. Use our guide to chart a new course with policies that state and local policymakers should enact to rekindle that fight against corporate concentration.

    See the Guide