CPE and the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network

The U.S. Solidarity Economy Network emerged from a series of meetings, initiated by the Center for Popular Economics, that were held at the U.S. Social Forum, in the summer of 2007. SEN’s mission is to strengthen the movement for a solidarity economy.

What is the Solidarity Economy?
An alternative development framework grounded in practice and the following principles:

• Solidarity and cooperation
• Equity in all dimensions (race, ethnicity, gender, class, etc.)
• Social and economic democracy
• Sustainability
• Pluralism, grassroots-level organizing, diversity
• Puts people and planet first.

SEN Background
CPE initiated an effort to create a focus on economic alternatives and the social/solidarity economy at the U.S. Social Forum. We worked with the Center for Labor and Community Research, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Grassroots Economic Organizing, the Democracy Collaborative, the Institute for Trade and Agricultural Policy and Guramaylay to organize 1) Economic Alternatives & the Social/Solidarity Economy(link to text below), a track of 75 workshops/activities on the social/solidarity economy and 2) Solidarity Economy Caucus (link to text below) a series of meetings bringing together more than 40 people representing groups involved in solidarity economy organizing. At the conclusion of these meetings, there was unanimous support to launch the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network, and for CPE to provide core staffing for its start up. We have secured a $20,000 seed grant, largely for staffing, and are seeking further funding. The SEN coordinating committee meets every two weeks by phone.

A Growing Movement 
There is an historic opening to create and push for a new framework for social and economic development – one that puts people and planet before private profits and power.  

In the midst of growing inequality and corporate power, government cutbacks, privatization and de-regulation, there is a quiet hum of people getting on with building an economy grounded in principles of social solidarity, cooperation, egalitarianism, sustainability and economic democracy.

We need not build the solidarity economy from scratch. Many features of existing economies and  struggles for reform are likely ‘keepers’, for example, social security, environmental protections, minimum wage and labor regulations. 

Other elements of the solidarity economy could be characterized as ‘economic alternatives’ such as cooperatives, land trusts, local currencies, community supported agriculture, social investment funds, participatory budgeting, green technologies, and the commons movement. Taken together, they offer stepping stones toward a new way of organizing our economy that is being called the solidarity economy. 

While some elements of the solidarity economy have existed for hundreds of years, the framework is very young and is still in the process of evolving and being defined. There’s a growing global movement to advance it as an alternative to the failed model of neoliberal corporate-dominated globalization.   

While the U.S. has many solidarity economy practices and institutions, the term itself is almost unknown in the US.  SEN was created to fill this gap.

SEN Activities:

• Sunday, March 16 10-12:00, Left Forum panel in NYC  – “The Solidarity Economy as a Path Towards Radical Economic Transformation.” Speakers from the US and Canada, representing five different solidarity economy networks, including the recently founded US Solidarity Economy Network, will introduce the solidarity economy framework and debate key aspects of solidarity economy organizing.
• SEN website: Check out our website at: www.ussen.org
• Solidarity Economy book,  documenting the Solidarity Economy track of workshops, talks and presentations at the U.S. Social Forum. Available in March ’08.
• Resources: we’ve developed a number of resources and documents that are available on the SEN website.
• Fall ’08: SEN inaugural conference is in the works.

Solidarity Economy:  Building Alternatives for People and Planet  Papers and reports from the U.S. Social Forum, 2007. Edited by Julie Matthaei, Jenna Allard & Carl Davidson. This is a rich and wide ranging collection of pieces drawn from the Economic Alternatives and the Social/Solidarity Economy track of over 75 workshops at the U.S. Social Forum in the summer of 2007. CPE was centrally involved in organizing the track as well as participating in workshops, many of which are included in this book. The book is available through Changemaker Publications.