Social Economy, Third Sector and Solidarity Relations: a Conceptual Synthesis from History to Present
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Urban Studies, Vol. 42, No. 11, 2037–2053, October 2005 Social Economy, Third Sector and Solidarity Relations: A Conceptual Synthesis from History to Present Frank Moulaert and Oana Ailenei [Paper first received, June 2004; in final form, June 2005] Summary. This paper attempts to provide a clear perspective on defining the social economy today. It addresses the question of the relevance of a unifying concept with its need to embrace the existing diversity of approaches and concepts. To this end, it surveys both historical and contemporary academic literature, as well as practice-rooted conceptualisations of the social economy. The first section outlines the analytical challenges to a reconstruction of the social economy concept. The second enhances the historical and space-bound diversity in theorising and institutionalising social economy practices. Section 3 focuses on contemporary reconceptualisations of the social economy in Francophone and Anglo-Saxon literature, while section 4 then suggests improvements to current ‘social economy’ concepts, by linking them to both the lessons of history and the views of social economy practitioners today. 1. Introduction understood within the institutional contexts and epochs from which they arose. This paper reviews the various meanings of Social innovation in the economy is mainly the term ‘social economy’, especially as used about the (re)introduction of social justice into in Francophone and Anglo-Saxon academic literature and institutional practice over the production and allocation systems. Although past 150 years.1 The choice of this long current literature on the social economy time-span and wide linguistic area is justified addresses the challenge of bringing social by the purpose of the analysis—i.e. to evalu- justice values back into the economy— ate the relevance of various concepts used in for example, by combating social exclusion, the analysis of social economy dynamics and fostering development in particularly how they can contribute both to a better deprived localities and reinventing solidarity understanding of social innovation in the in production relations—it says little, and contemporary globalising economy and to that inadequately, on the analytical questions the construction of shared concepts to under- arising from current social economy practice. pin future social economy research, action The existing literature surveys (for example, and policy. Despite a wide proliferation of Salomon and Anheier, 1995; Laville and terminologies, there is increasing osmosis Delfau, 2000; Leyshon et al., 2003) deal among the terms used; however, their real with a variety of features of social economy meaning can only be fully grasped when initiatives such as redistribution of income Frank Moulaert is in the Global Urban Research Unit (GURU), University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, UK. Fax: 0191 222 6008. E-mail: [email protected] and CNRS-IFRESI, France. Oana Ailenei is a PhD student in Economie Industrielle, University of Lille I, France. Fax: 00 33 (0) 320 12 5831. E-mail: [email protected]. The authors wish to thank Jacques Nussbaumer, Patsy Healey, Flavia Martinelli, Serena Vicari, Sara Gonza´lez and anonymous referees for their comments on earlier versions of this paper. 0042-0980 Print=1360-063X Online=05=112037–17 # 2005 The Editors of Urban Studies DOI: 10.1080=00420980500279794 2038 FRANK MOULAERT AND OANA AILENEI and wealth within the market economy, practices. Sections 3 and 4 place the debate various allocation systems and their political on the role of the social economy in a contem- governance, solidarity and reciprocity rela- porary context—first, by looking at recent tions, satisfaction of alienated individual and reconceptualisations of the social economy collective needs, the role of the public, private in the Francophone and Anglo-Saxon world and third sector in operating and governing (section 3) and, secondly, by validating the the social economy, and global governance potential of these concepts for empirical as an alternative for Keynesianism, but do analysis and practice-oriented research not establish the theoretical links between against both practitioners’ views and the them. Verifying these links is a key condition lessons drawn from the historical survey in of the recognition of the factors and mecha- section 2. Section 5 draws some methodologi- nisms of ‘reproducibility’ of both the social cal conclusions from this validation that are economy today and its governance. then elaborated in Moulaert and Nussbaumer A large part of the literature uses an histori- (in this issue). cal perspective, but fails to address the analytical consequences of the history- and 2. The Emergence and Re-emergence context-bound challenges of each epoch and of the ‘E´ conomie Sociale’: Solidarity social space for the construction of a theory Practice and Social Economy Concepts of the features of the social economy with, on the one hand, a necessary compromise ‘Social economy’ in its various meanings and between generally shared concepts and pro- through its terminological space- and time- cesses and, on the other, specific terminology bound proliferation, can only be analysed by referring to particular contexts and insti- combining a ‘history of practice’ with ‘a tutions. Awareness of this methodological history of thought perspective’. Section 2.1 challenge gives definition to this paper. The provides a short, somewhat eclectic, historical overall starting-point is that each epoch has ‘Euro-centred’ overview of social economy its own socioeconomic conditions bringing practice and organisation as they have subsequent opportunities and challenges to inspired early Francophone conceptualis- the lien solidaire (solidarity bond) which it ations of the social economy in Europe produced. As section 2 shows, when the econ- (section 2.2). This is the starting-point for omic growth engine starts to stutter, formal laying the foundations of a theory of emer- distribution mechanisms begin to fail and gence and re-emergence of social economy new social forces develop and give rise practices, institutions and concepts for at to alternative institutions and mechanisms of least two time-perspectives: an epochal solidarity and redistribution as a means staging starting in the mid 19th century and of addressing the failures of the institutions a contemporary periodisation covering the of the socioeconomic movements to guarantee past 30 years (section 2.3). solidarity among economic agents. The survey claims that, within the historically produced 2.1 A Short ‘History of Practice’ of the social spaces over the past 150 years, different Social Economy periods can be distinguished in which these spaces have developed their own institutional Antiquity and medieval times. Defourny and initiatives to combat poverty, either within the Develtere (1997) and Demoustier (2001) formal state (social policy) and market system retrace the ancient roots of the social (entrepreneurial initiative, employment), or economy within Egyptian corporations, the within ‘alternative circuits’. Most of these Greek funds for the ritual organisation of periods also delivered their own philosophical funerary ceremonies and the Roman colleges and theoretical analysis of exclusion and soli- of craftsmen. The first guilds2 appeared in darity, social development and redistribution Germanic and Anglo-Saxon regions in the that inspired or analysed social economy 9th century and, in the 11th century, there SOCIAL ECONOMY 2039 emerged the confraternities which responded The 19th century—especially the second to objective needs for assistance, reciprocal half—was also a period of intense experimen- support and charity in the shaky early tation with various forms of social action Middle Ages. The corporations (associations and initiatives in defence of the weakest organised on the basis of a trade or a segments of the population—i.e. the industrial profession) and the first compagnonages workers whose numbers were growing (guilds) developed in the 14th century.3 significantly. The medieval epoch and beyond was Before being institutionalised at the end of characterised by a very rich associative life, the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th not only in Europe, but also on other century, the various forms of ‘associationism’ continents: the food corporations in medieval were inspired by a number of visions, ideol- Byzantium, the post-medieval guilds in the ogies, theories and philosophies, sometimes Muslim countries, the professional castes competing, that influenced the formation of in India, the confraternities of craftsmen the social economy. According to Defourny in primitive Africa and in pre-Colombian and Develtere (1997), the main ideas that America (Defourny and Develtere, 1997). played a fundamental role were: 18th and These ‘associations’ were created in order to 19th century ‘utopian socialism’ (Owen, organise and protect communities. Fourier, Leroux, Saint-Simon, Proudhon) (Hardy, 1979; Mellor et al., 1988) that pro- The industrial revolution and the role of ideals moted the values of co-operation and of in Europe. As Gueslin (1987) asserts, modern mutual support; Christian socialism that forms of social economy came into being as a established the ‘intermediary corps’ to result of theorising practical experiences and combat individual isolation and absorption their institutionalisation in the 19th century, of individuals by the state)4 (Defourny and while the associative experiences of the