This graph traces the evolution of the terms "mutual aid" and "self-care" in the literature from 1950 to the present day. "Mutual aid" has been in decline for decades, while "self-care" has kept rising, overtaking it around 1980: care shifts from the group to the individual, something each person manages alone, through apps, platforms and protocols. Audre Lorde had described caring for oneself as "an act of political warfare"; today the same word sells wellness.
The interfaces that connect a person in difficulty with the help that exists (a phone number, a manual, a map, a group of volunteers) were often built from below by feminist, migrant and activist networks. They have therefore been gradually absorbed into apps and platforms, or criminalised. Nevertheless, in recent years, new forms of self-organisation have been building care interfaces that are simple, shared and made to last.