In Accompanying, Staughton Lynd identifies and explains the differences between two strategies of social change: organising and accompanying. The key concept is that in accompanying one another, the promoter of social change and his or her oppressed colleague view themselves as experts, each bringing indispensable experience to a shared project. Together, as equals, they seek to create what the Zapatistas call 'another world'. Lynd applies the distinction between the strategies to five social movements in which he has taken part, including the Civil Rights and Occupy movements.

In Accompanying, Staughton Lynd distinguishes two strategies of social change. The first, characteristic of the 1960s Movement in the United States, is "organizing." The second, articulated by Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, is "accompaniment." The critical difference is that in accompanying one another the promoter of social change and his or her oppressed colleague view themselves as two experts, each bringing indispensable experience to a shared project. Together, as equals, they seek to create what the Zapatistas call "another world."

Staughton Lynd applies the distinction between organizing and accompaniment to five social movements in which he has taken part: the labor and civil rights movements, the antiwar movement, prisoner insurgencies, and the movement sparked by Occupy Wall Street. His wife Alice Lynd, a partner in these efforts, contributes her experience as a draft counselor and advocate for prisoners in maximum-security confinement.