Towards the

Solidarity Economy:

A View from India

By InfoChange India

News & Features

http://www.infochangeindia.org

It is important for the corporate sector to move beyond the PR rhetoric of ‘corporate social responsibility’ to ‘corporate accountability’, says John Samuel, laying out the principles of the solidarity economy -- an alternative to the free-market economy -- where ethics of production, markets, investment and consumption is central to promoting sustainability

Ethics is what makes the economy humane – an enabling force for exchanges among people, societies and countries. Devoid of ethics, the economy can perpetuate predatory forces of dehumanisation, commodification, violence and war. The economy needs to be an enabling process that helps human beings and the environment to sustain and thrive. Economics devoid of ethics can be extractive, exploitative and imperialistic. In fact, both Adam Smith and Karl Marx began their search for a viable economy from strong ethical premises.

Website of the 2007 event where Asian socially responsible investors (SRIs) meet with socially responsible Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to discuss new initiatives such as Fair Trade, solidarity-based Supply chains, ethical investments, and microfinance, which are driven by the triple bottom line of sustainability, social responsibility, and environmental resilience.

http://www.asianforum2007.net