Encyclopedia of the Social and Solidarity Economy

Abstract

Over several decades, neoliberalism has shaped economic activities and relations in much of the world. Although there are many variants of neoliberalism, they all share in common two fundamental assumptions: that we human beings can maximize self-interest based on an economic calculation of costs and benefits; and that the market is inherently efficient and self-regulated. The policy conclusion drawn from these assumptions is that a stronger free market enhances human wellbeing.These assumptions, and the policy conclusion, are patently false. Calculated self-interest may be one element that determines our behaviour, but so too are non-economic interests and values associated with social norms, rights, obligations, reciprocity and morals. An inherently efficient and self-regulating market is just a utopian idea whose original imposition and catastrophic collapse was the subject of Karl Polanyi's (1944) The Great Transformation.The social and solidarity economy (SSE), which has gained currency across the world over the past two decades, provides an alternative approach to promoting human wellbeing, social justice and economic and sustainable development. Although the meaning of the SSE and its key features are contested, its constituent organizations such as cooperatives, associations, mutuals, women's self-help groups and social enterprises play a significant role in creating and protecting economic activities and social relations from commercialization and bureaucratization, and transforming them into participatory and democratic ones. In a nutshell, the SSE is all about social control and democratization of the economy understood as a vast set of social relations.Despite the growing recognition of the transformative potential of the SSE and the amount of academic and policy-oriented research related to the SSE, it remains a relatively new concept to many. There is therefore a need for high-quality knowledge on this topic, and information to guide policymakers, practitioners and researchers. Yet, there are very few sources that comprehensively examine the attributes, dynamics, opportunities and challenges associated with the SSE in various contexts. This is what has motivated the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) to convene leading experts to produce the Encyclopedia of the Social and Solidarity Economy (the SSE Encyclopedia), which is intended as an essential tool for raising awareness of SSE and promoting SSE organizations and enterprises at local, national and international levels.The SSE Encyclopedia is divided into four parts. Part I, 'Histories, Concepts and Theories', includes entry 10, 'Origins and Histories', which reveals the collective amnesia about the origins of social and economic organizations based on democratic solidarity initiated by various groups (indigenous self-organization in South America, women and African Americans in North America, and pioneering workers in Europe). It also includes entries dealing with the contested contemporary meanings of t...