Social And Solidarity Economy Research Articles

An Epistemological Reflection on Social and Solidarity Economy

Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is emerging as life affirming solutions to the global crises through the multiple ways people locally reinvent economic life on the margins of the capitalist system based on values of solidarity, reciprocity and sustainability. Although the SSE builds on a strong foundation of real practices and institutions of economic transformation as the way forward for us, this paper argues that this world of practice is in need of its theory to frame discourses and engage with the bigger picture with confidence as an alternative to the dominant economic paradigm. The author argues that the orthodox economics, with its ontological construct of the homo economicus, Cartesian dichotomy and logical positivist epistemology severely constrains our abilities to understand and appreciate economic alternatives based on ‘other’ rationalities. Hence, there is a need for an epistemological revolution to construct a coherent theoretical framework from the wreckages of the neoclassical economics for the SSE. This paper seeks to outline the basic structure and the key elements of the ontological and the epistemological framework for this ‘science-in-the-making’ as a step to stimulate further debate for a paradigm revolution.

The social and solidarity economy towards greater 'sustainability': learning across contexts and cultures, from Geneva to Manila

This article provides a snapshot of social and solidarity economy (SSE) institutions and activities in two differing regions of the world in order to reflect on how the SSE is being conceptualized and practised in varying contexts and cultures. The SSE is a growing social movement that includes a range of activities that share common values, including solidarity and mutual support, with a focus on community level development. We consider the case of Geneva, Switzerland - where the APRES Chamber federates more than 260 SSE enterprises - and that of Metro Manila, the Philippines - where Asia's solidarity economy council is headquartered. Our main findings are that actors in Geneva are more focussed on putting established SSE guiding principles into practice within their organizations at the community level, while actors in Metro Manila are engaged in a broader vision of achieving solidarity across supply chains and throughout the country. We conclude that the SSE has the potential to become the economy of sustainability, working towards more sustainable community development. For this, greater coherence is needed, not only within organizations, but between activities, communities and regions of the world.

The power of numbers in gender dynamics: illustrations from community forestry groups

Is solidarity and a collective articulation of interests a necessary condition for the socially disadvantaged to have a voice in institutions of local governance, as some commentators argue? Or can their inclusion in sufficient numbers equally serve this purpose, as implied in the global lobbying for quotas? Also, by what process can numbers transform into solidarity? And how can the impact of inclusion in local institutions move beyond the local? Answers to these questions would be relevant in many contexts, not least in emerging global debates on the social and solidarity economy (SSE). This paper argues that the power of numbers and implicitly shared interests can, in themselves, go a long way towards improving outcomes for the disadvantaged, although a conscious recognition and collective articulation of shared interests can further enhance effectiveness. The shift from implicitly shared interests to their collective expression, however, will require a concerted engagement with intra-group dynamics and processes of group formation and democratic deliberation. These aspects have been relatively neglected in existing SSE debates, which have focused mainly on a group's interaction with outside-group agencies rather than on intra-group interaction. The paper examines within-group dynamics through the prism of gender and class. Drawing on the author's empirical results relating to community forestry groups in South Asia, it demonstrates that a critical mass of ‘women-in-themselves’ can make a notable difference even without a ‘women-for-themselves’ social consciousness. It also explores how horizontal linkages across local groups and their vertical representation via federations can enhance impact beyond the local.

Social and solidarity economy for sustainable development: its premises – and the Social Economy Basel example of practice

The social and solidarity economy (SSE) is a viable strategy in dealing with some contemporary problems known both in industrial and developing countries. SSE is contextualized against the background of recent developments: the liberalization of goods and capital flows worldwide, continued industrialization, and the increased global division of labour. Addressed is how local populations could reach certain objectives and satisfy certain needs using techniques characteristic of SSE and, thus, carve out a social and economic space of their own vis-à-vis anonymous markets, global actors, and local and national elites. Within this self-governed space, it is suggested, a path can be laid for the necessary transition towards local, social, and ecological sustainability. The Social Economy Basel (SEB, founded 1996) will serve as an example to suggest how SSE principles could be operationalized into organizational practice.

Social and Solidarity Economy Web Information Systems

This paper presents the state of the art on interoperability developments for the social and solidarity economy (SSE) community web based information systems (WIS); it also presents a framework of interoperability for the SSE' WIS and the developments made in a research-in-progress PhD project in the last 3 years. A search on the bibliographic databases showed that so far there are no papers on interoperability initiatives on the SSE, so it was necessary to have other sources of information: a preliminary analysis of the WIS that support SSE activities; and interviews with the representatives of some of the world's most important SSE organisations. The study showed that the WIS are still not interoperable yet. In order to become interoperable a group of the SSE community has been developing a Dublin Corre Application Profile to be used by the SSE community as reference and binding to describe their resources. This paper also describes this on-going process.

Public Policies Addressed to the Social and Solidarity Economy in South America. Toward a New Model?

Since the beginning of this century, most South American countries have modified their position within society, challenging the self-regulating nature of markets and intervening in social issues. This approach supports the transition toward a “third-generation” model for the social policy field, one in which Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) acquires a relevant role. In the last few years, many public policies have included SSE in their design, with the purpose of addressing the key issues of developing societies: unemployment and poverty. This article analyzes the main regulatory dimensions and conditionings of the national programs that promote SSE in South American countries and aim to enhance social inclusion and employment. Particularly, the article examines the most illustrative social programs implemented at the national level in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela in the last decade.

Fair Trade in France: From Individual Innovators to Contemporary Networks

Fair trade aims at humanising the capitalist economy by serving the community, instead of simply striving for financial profit. The current fair trade sector is an excellent example of an innovation where networks based on ethical principles can help to effectively serve this market. Our analysis is based on 48 interviews amongst fair trade innovators in France and illustrates the advent of a new type of entrepreneur, one that is grounded in the social and solidarity economy (SSE). Based on a service-dominant logic, these innovators aim to construct a ‘new world’ centred on trade relationships by integrating the role of multiple-player networks into the creation of value in the market.