The Solidarity Economy Alternative: Emerging Theory and Practice

Our contemporary world is plagued by a deep crisis that threatens the survival of our species and the planet. In the midst of this dire situation, we are being misled - by transnational corporations, governments, mainstream media networks, and spin doctors - to believe that neoliberal capitalism has all the answers and can overcome any crisis. But, can more of the same and a blind faith in capitalism save our world? Many are not convinced and there is a crucial awakening taking place. The rise of transnational activism - the World Social Forum, the Arab Spring, Occupy, the Climate Justice Movement, and a post-neoliberal left - affirms the need for alternatives to global neoliberal capitalism. A crucial idea and practice emerging from this ferment is the solidarity economy alternative. This book brings together contributions from leading thinkers and practitioners supporting the solidarity economy alternative in South Africa, the US, the UK, Brazil, and Italy. For the first time, there is an attempt to clarify, rather than codify, meanings of the solidarity economy, to emphasize crucial theoretical concepts at work in the emergent solidarity economy, and to highlight situated movement-building experiences and ways in which the anti-capitalist logic of the solidarity economy can be constituted from below. The book is for anyone concerned about democracy, transformative politics, and emancipatory utopian alternatives. [Subject: Politics, Economics]