The role of science in fostering a common good economy
Transcript of The role of science in fostering a common good economy
Published in EuroScientist magazine by SciencePOD
As the forum of social and solidarity economy leaders, dubbed Rencontres du Mont-Blanc, is about to
take place between 26 and 28 November 2015, in Chamonix, France, its president, Thierry Jeantet,
calls for more scientists to be involved in the social and solidarity economy sector to try and find a
virtuous path for growth, hinging on research and innovation.
The role of science in fostering a common good economy
Science is to contribute to economy with new solidarity and social values
Does entering the race for growth and progress for its own sake make sense? Nothing could be less
certain if we do not question the meaning of such endeavour. Nevertheless, this is what happened
for over forty years! As if growth and progress were de facto positive. This misguided notion has
been used, to a great extent, to mask a broader reality. That is, the accumulation of capital,
profit-making through an acceleration of growth processes, mainly linked to finance. In other words,
a growth process geared towards the owners of the means of production. And increasingly, towards
their funders and the funders of the funders.
This is a somewhat brutal but fairly accurate assessment of the situation. It would be undue and
excessive, of course, to say that the evolution of science, in general, and of technologies, such as
biotechnologies, was totally determined--some would say polluted--by increased reliance on financial
drivers and on globalisation.
But the facts are here. And they are well known. In particular, global warming or the concentration of
scientific and technological advancements in favour of a relatively restricted group of countries
speak for themselves. It is therefore essential to be concerned about the purpose of sciences and
economic governance systems.
Ultimately, we should aim to define virtuous paths for progress--be it technical, biological, medical or
digital. Another goal is to ensure that progress is consistent with the new Sustainable Development
Goals, recently voted by the United Nations member countries. Or rather that progress goes over
and beyond these objectives.
If such concern had pre-existed, the Tokyo, Rio, and Copenhagen climate change conferences would
have been more ambitious and possibly more effective. We are clearly staying clear of the naive
belief that there is a potential socio-economic model that is perfect and unique. Or that "putting the
brakes on" would miraculously rebalance negative effects on humans and on the planet.
New vision
Instead, a multi-fold vision of potential new development models is more necessary than ever. The
idea is to move the lines, valuing and amplifying previous achievements, in line with the criteria
included in the UN human development index. The traditional measures of Gross Domestic Product
and stock market indicators have demonstrated their limitations.
This vision has been adopted by the Social Solidarity Economy (SEE) movement. It already
encompasses more than one billion cooperative members (excluding members of associations and
mutual societies) throughout the world. It is essential than its role grows. This ambitious goal is
nevertheless realistic because SEE is present in all continents and in all sectors of the economy.
Without SSE, indeed, there will be no lasting success of the likes of COP21. And there will be no fair
and solidarity based implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. However bold that
statement may appear, this is true.
Social and Solidarity Economy
Let's place the Social and Solidarity Economy in its context. It is a model, which contrasts with the
previous prevailing model. It is mainly based on the following principles: democratic
management--one person, one vote--sustainable property--both private and collective--fair
distribution of surpluses, respect of both people and the environment and, of course, solidarity.
To be successful, the SEE project--and not the capital--needs to be placed at the heart of all activities
by cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations, participatory and social enterprises,
communities, free software or seeds freed of intellectual property rights, etc.
The SEE copmmunity recently positioned itself on the international policy scene. Calling for new
alliances at the European and international level, the Joint Declaration for Social and Solidarity
Economy, was adopted on 28th September 2015 in parallel to the UN General Assembly. Those
involved include UN Member States, UN institutions, three global federations of cities and
territories, as well as the International Forum of the SSE Entrepreneurs, known as the Mont-Blanc
Meetings.
It is now crucial to go beyond this declaration. An effective alliance between the main actors of the
social economy and researchers as well as academics has yet to be built. These actors include the
International Forum of the Social and Solidarity Entrepreneurs and the supporters of Mont-Blanc
Meetings, due to take place between 26 and 28 November 2015 in Chamonix, France. The common
goal is to define how best to combine synergies in the realisation of SEE projects with the help of
scientific input, and thus pave the way for progress. This should result in joint projects--both
collaborative and cooperative--which can really make a difference.
The Scientific Committee of the Mont-Blanc Meetings, which includes economists, lawyers, and
sociologists, is now open to welcome other interested parties from the scientific community. The
time has come to work in this direction. Several trends show that there is an emerging desire to
combine economic, social and scientific fields. It is therefore time for solidarity initiatives to become
much more prevalent.
Thierry Jeantet
Thierry is president of the International Forum of the Social and Solidarity Entrepreneurs, of the
Mont-Blanc Meetings, the forum of social and solidarity economy leaders, and works for
supplementary pension and complementary mutual insurance companies, including as administrator
for SGAM Ag2R La Mondiale, vice-president of Mutavie, in France, vice-president of Tuw, in Poland.
Photo Credit: Huang Zheng via Shutterstock