Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
My vision is to shift that balance and gain back power by saying: “I am who I am, this is what I know how to do. This is my knowledge from my tradition, and I’m going to own it and free myself from this global market.”
The Social and Solidarity Economy is based on individuals and communities arising from social initiatives. Material benefits are not the essential building block of its identity. Rather, it defines itself by the quality of life and well-being of its members and the whole of society as a global system.
The economy of Rojava is geared towards providing for the poorest and those without possessions. Its basic principle is the participation of everyone in production. In the words of a minister of economics: “If a single loaf of bread is manufactured in Rojava, everyone will have contributed to it.”
Quebec’s social economy (also translated as “solidarity economy”) extends far beyond the province’s two major cities, and includes manufacturing, agricultural cooperatives, daycare centers, homecare services, affordable housing, social service initiatives, food co-ops, ecotourism, arts programs, public markets, media, and funeral homes.
Unlike their traditional for-profit counterparts, Open Cooperatives are oriented towards the common good in their statutes.
I want to speak today about a crisis that has gripped Europe, and the western democracies, over the last 30 years.
The social economy is composed of civil organizations and networks that are driven by the principles of reciprocity and mutuality in service to the common good – usually through the social control of capital.
