ConceptsDifferences and Convergences in Social Solidarity Economy Concepts: Definitions and...

7/29/2019 ConceptsDifferences and Convergences in Social Solidarity Economy Concepts: Definitions and Frameworks

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5 th RIPESS Global Forum of Social Solidarity Economy Building SSE as an alternative model of development

Manila, October 15-18, 2013Program

RIPESS Working Paper on

Differences and Convergences inSocial Solidarity Economy Concepts:

Definitions and Frameworks

Drafted by Emily Kawano, Sept 10, 2011

Working group: Ana Leighton, Red de Economa Solidaria de Santiago Chile; Eric Lavillunire, Institut Europen pour lconomie Solidaire (INEES) Luxembourg; Emily Kawano, U.S. Solidarity Economy Network; Sunil Chitrakar, Mahaguthi Craft with a Conscience Nepal; Madani Koumare, Rseau National Promotion dconomie Sociale et Solidaire Mali; Francoise Wautiez, Alliance 21

This working paper came out of discussions, held at the RIPESS Board Meeting in Paris, March 28-31, 2011.Our intent was to explore social solidarity economy concepts, definitions and frameworks used in differentcontinents and countries. Following a session that included the whole board plus some guests, a working groupmet to further clarify and articulate convergences and differences. Our goal was to deepen our understanding of each others concepts, and the specificities of local contexts, rather than to reach agreement on a single conceptor definition. We did find however, that often what appeared at first glance to be differences, disappeared or narrowed considerably in the process of deeper exploration.

We agreed on many broad aspects of the social solidarity economy:

1) The Social Solidarity Economy is an alternative to capitalism as well as other authoritarian, state-dominated economic systems in which ordinary people play an active role in shaping their economiclives.

2) Social solidarity economy is an ethical and values-based approach to economic development (asopposed to growth) that prioritizes the welfare of people and planet over profits and blind growth. Were-affirm the values expressed in the RIPESS Charter which includes:

a. humanism b. solidarity/mutualism/cooperation/reciprocity, including globalization of solidarity (anti-

imperialism)c. social, political and economic democracyd. equity/justice for all including the dimensions of gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, sexual

orientation, etc.e. sustainable developmentf. pluralism/inclusivity/diversity/creativityg. territoriality/localism/subsidiarity supports decision-making and management on as local a level

as makes sense.

3) Self-management and collective ownership in the workplace and in the community is central to thesolidarity economy.


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a. there are many different expressions of self-management and collective ownership including:cooperatives (worker, producer, consumer, credit unions, housing, etc), community-ownedenterprises, commons (participatory governance, for example community management of theforests in Nepal). In Africa the term cooperatives is avoided due to negative connotations.Instead they use the term collegial management .

4) The solidarity economy has a focus on the empowerment of women and other marginalized groups, aswell as anti-poverty and social inclusion work.

5) We recognize the importance of linking with social movements because we cant do it alone.

6) There are many fertile bases that hold great potential to develop as allies. Some of these bases are partially aligned with, but are not a part of, the solidarity economy such as the popular economic/informal sector. Others identify with a particular aspect, such as green, organic, or fair trade,that is aligned with solidarity economy values, but may be in conflict with other values in important,structural ways. Nonetheless there is great potential to build alliances and mutually supportivecollaborations.

b. Popular economy and informal economy the popular or informal sector of the economy is veryimportant given that a many people, particularly in the global South, depend on it for their livelihoods. For example, of the population in Mali are involved in the informal economy. The

popular economy is comprised of economic activities that are not covered by formalarrangements such as taxation, labor protections, minimum wage regulations, unemployment

benefits, or documentation. Many self-employed workers, micro-enterprises, traders, and mutualaid practices are part of the popular economy.The popular economy is not the same as the solidarity economy, but is aligned in many ways

because the actors often find collective ways to provide for social and economic needs, such aslending circles, community kitchens (comedores populares), mutual aid, mutual insurancesystems and so forth. In Venezuela the Ministry of Popular Economy is very close in their orientation to the solidarity economy.

c. Organic, green, fair trade There are many trends and movements that reflect solidarityeconomy values and yet may or may not be included in the solidarity economy. An example of the latter would be Wal-mart, which has its own brand of Rainforest Certified Fair Trade Coffee

but at the same time, engages in union busting and uses its massive market share to depress prices and wages. Yet there are certainly practitioners in these sectors that are valuable allies andothers that are already part of the social solidarity economy.

7) It is important to build micro to macro strategies:

a. Building practice on the ground this is the core of the social solidarity economy that the research, policies, advocacy and communication supports and enables. The concrete practices are oftengrounded in concepts of autonomous development and self help, as opposed to ceding responsibilityto the local or national government.

b. Research we must be able to make the case for the SSE through quantitative and qualitative data.A wide range of research is called for, including academic, community-based, action research, datagathering, and systematization of experiences.

c. Policy work on local, regional, national and international levels we seek to create policies thatenable, not direct, the SSE.


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d. Advocacy this work includes organizing and pushing for policies, legal statutes, and various other types of support for the SSE.

e. Raising visibility since the framework of the SSE is relatively unknown, we must engage inraising awareness about, and engagement with, the SSE. Our target includes the general public,

potential allies, and practitioners who are part of the SSE, but who do not identify with theframework. Two central strategies to raise visibility are:

i. education education about the SSE and its many aspects can take many forms, includingworkshops, forums, trainings, seminars, and classes. Education is often the first step in the

process of SSE mobilization, organizing or economic development.ii. communication, media, social media articles, books, video, media coverage are all

important ways of raising awareness about the SSE. We need to develop a library of theseresources.

FURTHER EXPLORATION OF TERMINOLOGY AND CONCEPTS:

We accept that on each continent, there are different areas of focus, entry points and specificities that result inthe use of different terminology relating to the social solidarity economy. Terms such as societal transition,movement for transformation, change in paradigm, alternative model of economic development , may be used indifferent places and in different circumstances depending on political, historical or cultural sensitivities. For example, in some circles in Asia, the term solidarity economy is viewed with suspicion as a close cousin tosocialism. The social solidarity economy does not exclude participatory, democratic forms of socialism butRIPESS recognizes that each region must decide what language and framing is most appropriate to their

particular circumstances.

Social economy vs Solidarity Economy:

The social economyis commonly understood as the third sector of the economy, complementing the firstsector (private/profit-oriented) and the second sector (public/planned). The third sector includescooperatives, mutuals, associations, and foundations (CMAFs) and are collectively organized, and orientedaround social aims that are prioritized above profits, or return to shareholders. Some consider the socialeconomy to be the third leg of capitalism, along with the public and the private sector. Thus, advocates of thesocial economy push for it to be accorded the same legitimacy as the public and private sectors, with acorresponding level of support in public resources and policy. Others, on the more radical end of the spectrum,view the social economy as a stepping stone towards a more fundamental transformation of the economicsystem.

The solidarity economyseeks to change the whole social and economic system and puts forth a different paradigm of development that upholds solidarity economy principles. It pursues the transformation of the

neoliberal capitalist economic system from one that gives primacy to maximizing private profit and blindgrowth, to one that puts people and planet at its core. As an alternative economic system, the solidarityeconomy thus includes all three sectors private, public and the third sector. The solidarity economy seeks tore-orient and harness the state, policies, trade, production, distribution, consumption, investment, money andfinance, and ownership structures towards serving the welfare of people and the environment. Whatdistinguishes the solidarity economy movement from many other social change and revolutionary movementsin the past, is that it is pluralist in its approach - eschewing rigid blueprints and the belief in a single, correct

path; the solidarity economy also values and builds on concrete practices, many of which are quite old, rather than seeking to create utopia out of thin air.

Thus the solidarity economy explicitly has a systemic, transformative, post-capitalist agenda. The social

economy is a sector of the economy that may or may not be part of a transformative, post-capitalist agenda,depending on whom youre talking to.


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Social solidarity economy and regional contexts

RIPESS uses the term social solidarity economyto embrace both the solidarity economy and the more radicalend of the social economy. We understand that the political, cultural, and historical realities on each continent,and indeed in different countries, call for a flexible approach to terminology, approaches and entry points.

For example, in Europe, the social economy is quite strongly rooted, and pre-dates the framework of thesolidarity economy. In general, there is decreasing support for the social economy on the national or EU level,

but more support on the local level. The emerging RIPESS-Europe network therefore works with both socialeconomy and solidarity economy organizations and includes sectoral as well as territorialorganizations/networks.

Quebec builds on the concept of the social economy and seeks to create a movement for transformation that isvery practical and grounded at the local, territorial level. In the rest of Canada, the emphasis is on the territorialframework.

RIPESS-LAC (Latin America and Caribbean) uses the solidarity economy framework. Despite somedifferences in definition, there is broad agreement that about its systemic and transformative agenda and that itis built around a core of ethical principles.

Brazils solidarity economy definition was built by practitioners over many years through forums, meetings,and consultations. Solidarity economy is articulated in three dimensions: 1) economic self management and a

broad concept of enlarging democracy 2) culture trying to change the paradigm of competition and replace itwith cooperation and 3) political a concern for human development, not the promotion of a particular sector,eg. cooperatives, etc. The social movements in Brazil are extremely fragile at present, and the solidarityeconomy is involved in integrating resistance with building alternatives in agriculture, health, global justice,and womens movements to overcome forms of exclusion.

The U.S. was able to start with a fairly blank slate and the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network deliberately choseto work within the solidarity economy framework, as an unambiguously transformative movement.

The Asian Alliance for the Solidarity Economy takes the social enterprise as a starting point along with theneed to build solidarity economy supply chains. See below for more.

Africa works with both the social economy and solidarity economy frameworks. In Mali there have been effortsto construct a legal and institutional framework to support the SSE and this process came up against the issue of definition as well.

RIPESS does not seek to constrain these specificities, but rather to find areas in common between continents,

and to work in an organic fashion, towards greater convergence or harmonization. (Daniels diagram?)

Social enterprise/entrepreneurship:

- Ben, the Asian Alliance for the Solidarity Economy (AA4SE) sees the social enterprise at the heart of economy and is focused on the need to build supply chains (producer, financial, trade, etc.). They define socialenterprise as having these characteristics: sustainability, high level of autonomy, management of risk, paidworkers, explicit community benefit, citizen initiative, people over capital, participatory, limited distribution of

profit to avoid profit maximizing behavior (by limited returns for investors). In the short run, theres noexpectation for 100% compliance but the long term goal is to develop greater alignment over time. The SSEmust to educate the big firms because we want to be the main economy, not the alternative.

- Carlos coming from the trade union movement, we have some concerns about these criteria.. For example,Coca-cola could easily fulfill the criteria. Surely we can find grounds for agreement, but we arent there yet.- Ana:At the Medellin meeting we felt that it can be easier to find common ground with small scale socialenterprises, than the big cooperatives and networks.


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- Madani: Theres a deep interest in social entrepreneurship. A sector of health and social service cooperativesand mutual societies has developed, which is one of the priorities in Mali. These social enterprises need to beable to access credit. The focus is shifting towards the creation of wealth, not eradication of poverty.- Eric: In Europe there are social enterprise platforms in France, Italy, and the UK. One of the challenges to beaware of is that the social welfare tradition is being dismantled and privatized. Sometimes privatization is donethrough social enterprises. Some see social enterprises as part of social welfare state, but others see them as asocial business that enables the state to shed its responsibilities.

- Emily:In the U.S., social enterprise is defined as having social aims at the core of their operation. They are amix of capitalist and democratic, collective enterprises. SEN sees social enterprise networks as allies, but we donot have very deep working relationship.

Solidarity economy enterpriseThe definition of a solidarity economy enterprise varies and is still in flux. In Brazil it must be democratically,collectively managed (broader than the family but this is always a debate because the family economy isstrong), regular ongoing activity and there are measures to encourage womens equity, and environmentalsustainability. Quebecs definition is similar. In the U.S., the definition of a solidarity economy enterprise isstill a matter of debate, though theres a strong pull towards the democratic, collective management criteria,with those that fall outside being included in a broad category of allies.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

- Daniel : we think that social entrepreneurship is too close to corporate social responsibility (CSR), so we dontuse this term.- Madani:Its not about CSR Social enterprises bring together different projects and initiatives so that peoplecan get jobs, etc. based on the values of the SSE.- Denison: thinking aloud from Malaysian experience, the question has arisen as to whether there are other models operating with their own strengths and weaknesses. Most CSR involves businesses engaged in, or donating to support, charitable work. However, some businesses have moved on towards community support.Social entrepreneurs have emerged in areas that arent being provided by the government or market, for example in education, childcare, or hospitals. One wealthy man donated 50% of his profits to support thedevelopment of a commercial center that includes a park, and eldercare, provided by small operators. It alsoincludes a university, because the donor realized that he needs an educated workforce.

Some Muslim Malay communities have pooled their savings and invested in shares of large companies.Their equity stake is backed by government guarantees. Many of these companies are huge, and the profits are

plowed back to its members. There might be less solidarity at the community level, but they employ many people.

The cooperative movement has moved away from being community based to being publicly listed.

Trade unions

A question was raised about the relationship of the SSE to trade unions.In Europe, it differs from country to country. EU Commission on Labor (?), trade unions have a great deal of influence. We have shared interests around quality of work.In the U.S. there is a growing exploration about the role of the labor movement in job creation and economicdevelopment.In Latin America, there is participation of trade unions in the solidarity economy movement, at least UITA(Intl Union of Food Workers) and Brazil. In Brazil theres a strong involvement through CUT which has acommission devoted to establishing linkages with the solidarity economy. This is an important recognition, butBrazil is the exception. There are 62 trade unions that are part of UITA and we have lots of experience with thesolidarity economy, ranging from micro to macro. For example Argentina trade unions manage their own healthcare system for thousands of workers. The problem is awareness of, and self-recognition and identification with

the solidarity economy. There is however, a strong will to move forward and UITA perceives the solidarityeconomy as a very close sector.


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Investment and SE Business

In the Philippines, the poor can save, but savings are small. The institutions that collect these savings do notinvest in SE. Were trying to develop a model that mobilizes the savings of poor for SE initiatives instead of

borrowing from World Bank. When you borrow from the people you call it tax but pay no interest. If we can prove that SE can provide a better return than mainstream investments, then we can argue that the governmentshould issue bonds and use the money for SE.

Ben:We need to think of RIPESS as a business, like the World Fair Trade Organization, in order to havegreater legitimacy and generate more support from the government and investors and also to get free of theconstraints imposed by donor dependency. We should think about doing business with each other south-southsolidarity trade.

Moving forward

We agreed that these discussions are very important and that we need to have them at every meeting, with perhaps a different focus to clarify points of convergence and differences. Eg. next time look at ethical or political dimensions. We also need to be clear on the objectives beyond convergence and differences, to thefuture of RIPESS as a political actors. The second objective is to strengthen the ability of RIPESS to take onnational and international level initiatives and make public declarations.

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