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.
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.