UFE and the Solidarity Economy Movement

From March 19 – 22, 2009 close to 400 people found their way to University of Massachusetts at Amherst for the first national gathering of the US Solidarity Economy Network (SEN), a group formed out of the Solidarity Economy Caucus meetings of the U.S. Social Forum held in Atlanta in June 2007.  UFE was present at the US Social Forum and was represented at the SEN forum by six staff members. UFE attended the forum eager to network with sister organizations, explore possible collaborations, and exchange ideas about the potential convergence between the emerging solidarity economy movement and UFE’s ongoing work for economic justice.

It was a weekend rich in both ideological and practical learnings, jam-packed (perhaps too solidly) with plenaries, workshops (several of which were led UFE staff and board) and energizing discussions about the growing solidarity economy movement in the US and around the world.

The solidarity economy, also recognized as the social economy, is loosely defined as “an alternative development framework that is grounded in practice and in the principles of: solidarity; mutualism and cooperation; equity in all dimensions (race/ethnicity/nationality, class, gender, LGBTQ); social well-being over profit and the unfettered rule of the market; sustainability; social and economic democracy; and pluralism, allowing for different forms in different contexts, open to continual change and driven from the bottom up.”[i]   It can also be viewed as a tool for: 1) developing the emerging language that is a part of building the movement to transform the economy, and 2) promoting a way of thinking about the economy that opens up spaces of hope.[ii]

The solidarity economy aims to create a new framework that “puts people and planet before private profits and power”.[iii]   The movement recognizes that solutions for meeting these goals are going to look different in different places and different contexts.   It celebrates these differences and seeks way to find common values and links to build bigger networks of mutual support that allow for organizing around economic alternatives on a larger scale.

Though forms of solidarity economy have been practiced in this country (and the world) for centuries, and similar movements have been growing throughout the world for decades, it is only recently that it has been formally named and identified in the US.   As the movement continues to grow and mature, there will be some core issues that need to be ironed out.   Some of the core debates identified at the forum are how the solidarity economy should:

·     View the role and nature of markets;

·     View the role and nature of the state;

·     Address ideas of reforming or replacing capitalism;

·     Incorporate different models and visions and what their roles should be;

·     Decide where to draw the lines of collaboration and conflict

Even as the emerging movement tackles these and other difficult questions, it is clear to us that there already are significant links between the solidarity economy and the mission of UFE.   UFE is dedicated to supporting and helping to build movements for greater equality.   We envision communities and nations without disparities of income, wages, wealth, health and safety, and grounded in mutual respect and dedicated to creating opportunities for recreation and personal growth. We see an economy where everyone contributes to society with their labor and everyone benefits from society’s economic and social growth.   We seek a society in which values, not profits alone, guide economic decisions; and one of our goals is to serve as a forum where different races, cultures and people with varying degrees of wealth can come together to work for economic justice.  

Like many others at the forum, we are excited by the opportunity to dig deeper into the solutions this collaborative model of economics holds in terms of creating a fair and sustainable economic system.   UFE will continue to explore the best way to engage with the emerging solidarity economy movement to help us realize our overarching organizational vision and mission. We invite you to explore with us; tell us what you know about the solidarity economy, share your experiences with us; give us suggestions for how to best interconnect our 13 year commitment to economic justice with the various components of this exciting growing movement.