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One gathers under the term of social economy a whole side of the economic activity which is not

  • nor a capitalist company , since its internal goals and its rules are different (not objective of division of profit). They can however be sometimes in competition with capitalist companies on the same market.
  • nor a state enterprise, since they depend on the Private sector. They however share objectives with the public sector.

One thus speaks about third way or third sector : the first sector being the capitalist sector of which the goal is the profitability of the investments by the maximum search for profit, and the second sector being the public sector whose activity seeks to satisfy what it judges being the General interest. Name third sector brings to regard the social economy as a form for “ to undertake differently”.

One also speaks about social economy and interdependent by including there new forms of activities, of which in particular the Insertion by the economic activity.

The 2nd International meeting on the globalisation of solidarity (Quebec, October 2001) defined the social economy thus: “ the social economy and interdependent indicates a whole of economic initiatives to social purpose which take part in the construction in a new way of living and to think the economy through tens of thousands of projects in the countries of North like South. It places the human person in the center of economic development and social. Solidarity in economy is based on an at the same time economic, policy and social all project, which involves a new manner of making of the policy and of establishing the human relations on the basis it consensus and of acting it citizen”.

Composition and principles of the social economy

4 families of the social economy

In practice, the social economy corresponds to types of Organization with legal statuses precise :

The social economy presents a significant proportion of the Entreprise S and Emploi S within the European Union. Most important are the Coopérative S with 63 million Membre S and more than 370 billion Euro S of Turnover; then Mutual of precaution with 47 million members and a Turnover of 22 billion doule Euro S; then the 25 million family S covered by Co-operative S and Mutual insurance for a Turnover of 40 billion; and finally the 40 million associated and 3 million employees animating of the association S.

Source: European commission (March 4th, 1993).

The South America, the Canada and the Europe of the East also profit on the one hand important from the social economy.

Principles

The social economy is composed of the economic activities carried on by companies, mainly of the co-operative and mutual insurance companies, like by associations. It has its own ethics, which results in the following principles:

  • a private Statute
  • primacy of the Man on the Capital ,
  • a nonlucrative Aim or of nonsearch for Profit,
  • an economic sector with whole share which works on the Marché but with its own principles,
  • the indivisibility of the reserves: Inheritance collective and indivisible,
  • a finality clarifies with the service of the community: General interest and social Utility,
  • a Democratic process of Decision : “a person, a voice” (and not “an action, a voice” as in the Capitalism),
  • a autonomy of Management,
  • an anchoring territorial or sectoral.

Some bring the social economy closer to the communities of the free software.

History of the co-operative movement and mutualist

See History of the social economy.

Definitions and activities by country

At the institutions of the European Union

The Economic and Social Committee European, one of the institutions of the European Union traditionally more active as regards support for the Social economy has just published a study on the Social economy in the 25 Member States of the Union. Access to l´étude: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/groups/3/index_fr.asp?id=1405GR03FR

With the the European Parliament it exists a " parliamentary joint committee of the economy sociale".

In Belgium

Of Flanders, according to the VOSEC, “the social economy consists of a diversity of companies and initiatives which propose in their objectives the realization of certain social appreciations and which respect the following principles: priority of work on the capital, decision-making process democratic, social implication, transparency, quality, durability. An special attention is paid to the quality of the internal and external relations. These organizations offer goods and services on the market and engage their economic means in an effective way with an aim of ensuring their continuity and their profitability. ”

In Wallonia, the Walloon Council of Social economy (CWES) adopted in 1990 a formulation resulting from this kind of step in which the concept of social economy is built (1) by identifying the principal forms of organization that one finds - a priori - in the third sector and (2) by affirming the existence of an ethics specific to these organizations.

Definition of the social economy " The social economy is composed of economic activities carried on by companies, mainly co-operative, reciprocities and associations whose ethics results in the following principles:

finality of service to the members or the community rather than of profit, autonomy of management, decision-making process democratic, primacy of the people and work on the capital in the distribution of the revenus." (The Walloon Council of the Social economy)

While recognizing the existence of certain case-borders, there is now habit to locate the organizations of the social economy to the legal form which they adopt and which devote the principles included in the definition of the CWES. Thus, one gathers under the term “social economy” of associations (ASBL, associations in fact, establishments of public utility), of the mutual insurance companies (reciprocities and national unions of reciprocities) and of the companies (cooperative society with true co-operative project and companies which adopt the quality of company with social purpose), by supposing that they respect on the whole the following principles which are as many criteria of membership of a unit which dissociates public sector and private sector with goal of lucre:

1. The finality of service to the members or the community rather than of profit, which insists on the fact that the social economic activity is a service rendered to the members or to other people and not a tool of financial reporting. The benefit are a means of better carrying out this service, but not the principal mobile of the activity.

2. The autonomy of management, which especially aims at distinguishing the social economy from the public authorities. Indeed, the economic activities undertaken by the latter generally do not have the broad autonomy which constitutes an essential spring of associative dynamics.

3. The democracy, which returns to the principle “a man - a voice” (and not “an action-a voice”) in the sovereign bodies and stresses that adhesion and the participation in the decisions cannot rise mainly from the property of a capital.

4. Primacy of the people and work on the capital in the distribution of income, which translates practices such as the limited remuneration of the capital, the distribution of the surpluses in the form of rebates, concerning investments, social assignment… etc

In Canada

  • Definition of the Observatory in social economy of Outaouais: http://www.uqo.ca/observer/

  • Definition of the social economy Team, health and Quality of life (EESSBE): http://www.unites.uqam.ca/essbe/definition.htm
  • Conference on the social economy, short speech of Marie-Helene Méthé: http://www.sadcdufjord.qc.ca/formpub/actes/Conf%C3%A9rence.html
  • Lévesque Benoit, Mendell Marguerite, “social economy in Quebec: theoretical and empirical elements for the debate and research”: http://www.crises.uqam.ca/c99/9908a.htm

In France

In France, the social economy gathers the Mutuelle S, the Coopérative S, the association S and the foundation S. It accounts for 10% of GDP and employment.

The CRES (Regional courts of social economy) provide a logistical support (information, council, studies) for the sector at the regional level and the CEGES at the national level.

  • It is what, the social economy? : http://cidcspes.free.fr/index.html

  • In France, social economy structure through the CEGES: http://ceges.org/home_cadre.php
  • One also finds a space resource dedicated to the socio-economic initiatives on the site of WARNS: http://www.avise.org

There exists since 1982 an interdepartmental Direction of social economy (DIES). From 2000 to 2002, there was a secretariat of State to the economy interdependent depending on the ministry for the economy, with has its head Guy Hascoët.

In Italy

  • Definition of Associazione Lavoro E Integrazione (Milan): http://www.ecosoc.be/ProjetsTextesIT.htm

In Spain

  • Definition of CIRIEC-Spain (Valencia): http://www.uv.es/uidescoop

In Sweden

  • social economy - Outline of work of the Services of the government on the social economy of spring 2001 in spring 2002: http://justitie.regeringen.se/pressinfo/pdf/n2002_32.pdf

In Switzerland

Since 2004, the actors of the ESS start to gather within Association for the promotion of the social economy and interdependent (ESS). The first experiments are in French-speaking Switzerland (French-speaking part). Geneva has creates a Room ESS to see it Internet site: AFTERWARDS, Room of the social economy and interdependent

Bonds

  • Observatory in social economy: http://www.uqo.ca/observer

  • Econosoc is a site gate dedicated to the social economy and the Belgian associative sector. Webmaster Pegg Isabelle Henrotte * “Social economy and microphone-credit”, www.politiquessociales.net
  • Site under international expansion (social economy and interdependent): http://www.uqo.ca/ries2001/
  • Social economy and interdependent: a North-South prospect]
EcoSociale - Directory of the actors of the social economy and interdependent

Polemic

For some, all the economy should be “social and interdependent”. For others, the economic agents can, certainly, aim certain social objectives, but they cannot be seen some allotting exclusiveness because that would strip the democratically elected political power of its legitimacy in this field. In other words are put questions of Séparation of the capacities, Corporatisme and Paternalisme.

See too

External bonds

  • 1º World conference of research in social economy
  • CIRIEC-International - international information and research Center on the public, social and co-operative Economy
  • UESL

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