“Solidarity”? After years of disdain, the concept may be gaining new life in the US. In July, a group of progressive organizers and academics launched the US Solidarity Economy Network (SEN-US), and its ambitions stretch well beyond picket-line chants. Founded at the US Social Forum in Atlanta, SEN-US aims to develop economic frameworks and practices based on democracy, equity, and sustainability. Examples include cooperatives (worker, producer, consumer, housing, financial), land trusts, fair trade, community supported agriculture (CSA), worker-controlled pension funds, and participatory budgeting.
Sound idealistic? Maybe it is, but solidarity economy networks have already seen results. Canada’s network leveraged $132 million in government funds for investment, research and training, for a comprehensive national policy framework. In countries such as Brazil and Argentina, solidarity economy advocates have developed national legislation and municipal policies that promote cooperatives.
The US may not be so far off. Organizations on the SEN-US Coordinating Committee, such as The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Grassroots Economic Organizing, The Center for Labor and Community Research, and The Center for Popular Economics, have already been fostering more democratic economic practices and enterprises. SEN-US aims to raise the visibility of these efforts, link them together through a broader economic framework and vision, develop common resources, and promote supportive public policies. After all that, solidarity might even become fashionable in the least likely of places…
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