SOLIDARITY
economy
When we coalesce our energies and pool our resources, we magnify the scope and expression of change. While we may survive divided, we thrive united.
SOLIDARITY ECONOMY: WHAT IS IT?
While we believe that cooperatively structured and governed businesses are the future, we recognize that they represent only a small slice of the current economy. As we endeavor to stake out and craft a more equitable future, we recognize that the end goals depend on successfully incorporating *all* of our community stakeholders into the overarching vision.
The term "Solidarity Economy" refers to a wider ecosystem of institutions, both formal and informal, which aim to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world through strategic investment and resourcing.
It could involve traditional Main St. businesses, large-scale non-profits, government agencies or public programs, grassroots groups, neighborhood or place-based groups, or even trade unions.
Connecting all of these is intentional actions led by solidarity, centering human and environmental needs to achieve economic and social self-sufficiency and interdependence.
In the midst of growing inequality and corporate power, government cutbacks, privatization and deregulation, there is a quiet hum of people getting on with building economic alternatives grounded in principles of social solidarity, cooperation, egalitarianism, sustainability and economic democracy.
-- U.S. Solidarity Economy Network
The Solidarity Economy has gone by other names—"Beloved Community," "New Economy," ". Although many working within the sphere are undoubtedly contemporary visionaries, it’s also true that many of the most promising solutions to our broken system borrow from practices dating back thousands of years and across the world. Practically speaking, the Solidarity Economy is a rejection of the exploitations of capitalism in favor of an economic model that includes everyone in the decision-making process.