Social enterprise has no agreed definition, or legal form ... unlike a co-op. As a way for a charity to diversify income the approach can work well as you've outlined in the article. Sometimes it's prone to the heropreneur problem. They can be seen as a way of simply reducing public expenditure. Also can be about addressing gaps rather than being part of a movement for democratic economic transformation.
All very good points! I did not address what the SE model might imply for co-ops, especially social co-ops so I'll try to clarify that a bit.
On the point about public expenditure: we're mainly speaking of local government here, and even its expenditures for social care are declining in many countries but with no corresponding search for civil society partners.
Social co-ops could be viewed as addressing government gaps (if we think only in terms of the state and the movement) but they can also be viewed as building dual power--which is arguably a path to the transformation we want.
The article was not meant as a defense of all forms of SE but rather a look at how generating commercial revenues from genuine social innovation (Italian cooperators are brilliant at making this pitch) can free us from domination by either government-led care or corporately owned care, neither of which offer dignified labor, quality care or a democratic workplace and certainly don't leave control with the communities served.
So here's the needle we're trying to thread: social co-ops have a history of funding by local government. As that goes away, social co-ops serving poor communities will either need to find a new funding strategy or face closing down. Local money is an aspect of local control--without relying on financial/platform capitalism.
The idea of recycling waste food from area restaurants into a meals program for the homeless reminds me of the book of Ruth's familial, cultural, and political fecundity [outcomes?] that somehow connects with the motif of gleaning [outputs?]. I look forward to reading Social Entrepreneurship. Thank you for another timely book recommendation.
Hi all, today’s post at Sing Palestine Vivra today is a call for action. Public demonstrations of support for Palestine are intended to put pressure on our governments to take action. Words of condemnation are inadequate. We need boycotts, divestment, sanctions, arrests for war crimes, military intervention. And the workers of the world are leading the way. As usual.
We’ve started Sing Palestine Vivra to encourage people to make public demonstrations of support for the people of Palestine. Eventually, we hope to be able to use Sing Palestine Vivra to organize large scale campaigns of public demonstrations of support for Palestinians.
The substack Sing Palestine Vivra will never accept donations or paid subscriptions.
In Solidarity and with Hand to Heart, Palestine Vivra
Social enterprise has no agreed definition, or legal form ... unlike a co-op. As a way for a charity to diversify income the approach can work well as you've outlined in the article. Sometimes it's prone to the heropreneur problem. They can be seen as a way of simply reducing public expenditure. Also can be about addressing gaps rather than being part of a movement for democratic economic transformation.
All very good points! I did not address what the SE model might imply for co-ops, especially social co-ops so I'll try to clarify that a bit.
On the point about public expenditure: we're mainly speaking of local government here, and even its expenditures for social care are declining in many countries but with no corresponding search for civil society partners.
Social co-ops could be viewed as addressing government gaps (if we think only in terms of the state and the movement) but they can also be viewed as building dual power--which is arguably a path to the transformation we want.
The article was not meant as a defense of all forms of SE but rather a look at how generating commercial revenues from genuine social innovation (Italian cooperators are brilliant at making this pitch) can free us from domination by either government-led care or corporately owned care, neither of which offer dignified labor, quality care or a democratic workplace and certainly don't leave control with the communities served.
So here's the needle we're trying to thread: social co-ops have a history of funding by local government. As that goes away, social co-ops serving poor communities will either need to find a new funding strategy or face closing down. Local money is an aspect of local control--without relying on financial/platform capitalism.
The idea of recycling waste food from area restaurants into a meals program for the homeless reminds me of the book of Ruth's familial, cultural, and political fecundity [outcomes?] that somehow connects with the motif of gleaning [outputs?]. I look forward to reading Social Entrepreneurship. Thank you for another timely book recommendation.
Hi all, today’s post at Sing Palestine Vivra today is a call for action. Public demonstrations of support for Palestine are intended to put pressure on our governments to take action. Words of condemnation are inadequate. We need boycotts, divestment, sanctions, arrests for war crimes, military intervention. And the workers of the world are leading the way. As usual.
https://open.substack.com/pub/houlahanjeff/p/sounds-for-palstine-day-16?r=604ds6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
We’ve started Sing Palestine Vivra to encourage people to make public demonstrations of support for the people of Palestine. Eventually, we hope to be able to use Sing Palestine Vivra to organize large scale campaigns of public demonstrations of support for Palestinians.
The substack Sing Palestine Vivra will never accept donations or paid subscriptions.
In Solidarity and with Hand to Heart, Palestine Vivra