But what do we mean by “transformative economies”? If we want to answer from the SSE perspective, a quick look at socioeco.org is in order. A simple search in the search engine indicates that we can find about 700 documents that use the word “transformation” in different languages. To refine the search, we can use the keyword: New paradigm of transformation, which groups together those of interest to us and which we present here, used in the sense of social and political change. In the words of Ruben Suriñac, in his book Economias transformadoras de Barcelona, “the movements and phenomena of the transforming economy are all proposals for socio-economic reorganization that introduce a critique of the dominant economic model and formulate proposals for socio-economic change (both in theory and in practice) that, to varying degrees, attempt to transform this model or, at least, to prevent or mitigate its negative effects“. For Barcelona, he cites the movements of degrowth, the economy of the common good, the commons, the feminist and care economy, the social economy, the SSE. And the phenomena of the collaborative economy, community, responsible consumption, the circular economy, social entrepreneurship, social innovation and societal responsibility.

Here are some examples of documents that you can consult in the 3 RIPESS languages:

In Spanish,

we find, in addition to the book mentioned above, the documents related to the Transformative Economies Forum itself and often to REAS and XES:

• Alternativas Economicas n°57 – Dossier : Economias transformadoras – 2018
• Declaración por una Economía Social Solidaria transformadora – Bilbao, GSEF 2018

but also

• La economia solidaria: Concepto y potencial transformador , 2012 – Leire Uriarte Zabala, Miren ZUFIAURRE, Eneritz Pagalday Tricio (Pais Vasco)

Describe el concepto de ES desde dos perspectivas -europea y latinoamericana, con especial relevancia sobre el potencial transformador de ésta y su vinculación con los nuevos movimientos sociales.

• Los mercados sociales. La economía solidaria en acción transformadora , 2014 – Blanca Crespo Arnold, Fernando Sabín Galán

Si las experiencias basadas en la ES lograran conectarse e intercooperar entre ellas dentro del modelo del consumo responsable, serian capaces de alterar las condiciones perversas del mercado actual.

• Transformando Euskal Herria (también) desde la Economía Social y Solidaria , 2018 – Carlos Askunze Elizaga En el pais vasco, ha existido una tradición de construcción de experiencias socioeconómicas alternativas y transformadoras ante la hegemonía y las fatales consecuencias del modelo de desarrollo capitalista.

In Latin America, the documents refer to social transformation, action for transformation, the paradigm of transformative change or as a form of resistance to capitalism.

• Una transformación social posible desde el Trabajo Social: la necesidad de un enfoque socioeconómico para las políticas sociales , 2002 – José Luis Coraggio , Argentina

Plantea que es el sentido de la transformación deseada, y desde esa definición amplia, qué política social o socioeconómica contribuyen a esa transformación.

• La economia como motor de los cambios, o una nueva estructura de la acción transformadora , 2007 – Luis Razeto Migliaro, Chile

Plantea la posibilidad de construir una economía no capitalista basada en relaciones y valores de justicia y solidaridad, que fuera –además- eficiente y económicamente racional.

• Solidaridad económica y potencialidades de transformación en América Latina. Una perspectiva descolonial, 2012 – Boris Marañón Pimentel, Brasil

Si no hay una ruptura epistemológica con el eurocentrismo, si no se da cuenta de la especificidad de las sociedades latinoamericanas, las posibilidades de construcción de la otra economía y de la otra sociedad son limitadas.

• Carta das mulheres da economia solidaria : MULHERES TRANSFORMANDO A AMÉRICA LATINA , Porto Alegre, 14 sept.2012

Plantea la necesidad de un nuevo modelo de desarrollo que posibilite el reconocimiento de las mujeres como sujeto politico y sus reivindicaciones.

and let’s not forget the slogan of the last WSF :

• Resistir es crear, resistir es transformar

In English,

we find the concept of “transformational or transformative change”, in particular used by UNRISD:

• Policy Innovations for Transformative Change. Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , UNRISD Flagship Report 2016).

The report explores what transformative change really means for societies and individuals. It provides guidance on how to turn the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs into concrete actions.

• Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Social and Solidarity Economy: Incremental versus Transformative Change , Knowledge Hub Working Paper Series 2018 – Peter Utting

The paper considers whether the uptake of the SSE agenda by governments can scale up and enable SSE in ways conducive to realizing the ‘transformational vision’ of the SDGs.

But also the following documents associated with the comons and degrowth  :

• Commoning as a Transformative Social Paradigm , 2016 – David Bollier (USA)

Brisk overview of the commons, commoning, and their great potential in helping build a new society. becoming stewards of natural systems, and mutualizing the benefits of shared resources.

• Initiatives, Chains and Networking for Transformation , Degrowth in movement(s): Solidarity Economy (Germany) – 2017 – Dagmar Embshoff, Clarita Müller-Plantenberg,, Giuliana Giorgi How is the relation between the degrowth movement and other social movements and perspectives?

In French,

the authors discuss the transformative potential of the collaborative economy, social innovations, degrowth, commons or the transformation of capitalism:

• La transformation sociale envisagée par la perspective a-croissante permet-elle de penser l’innovation sociale ? , RIUESS 2012 – Fabienne Dourson

Il s’agit de rechercher dans quelle mesure l’innovation sociale est révélatrice d’un changement de paradigme dans l’organisation socio-économique de nos sociétés.

• La transformation sociale par l’innovation sociale, 4°Colloque International du Crises, 3 et 4 avril 2014

Ce colloque traite de la reconstruction sociale en cours à travers l’émergence d’expériences socialement innovantes visant à redéfinir la société sur des bases plus solidaires et équitables.

• Economie sociale et solidaire, des acteurs au coeur de la transition écologique, L’Atelier Ile-de France, mars 2016

Les principes que recouvre la transition écologique concordent avec les valeurs défendues par l’économie sociale et solidaire : démocratie, citoyenneté, solidarité, plus-value sociale et/ou écologique et favorisent la diffusion de nouveaux modes de consommation, de production.

• Pôles Territoiraux de coopération économique : L’Entrepreneuriat territorial au risque de la transformation sociale et de l’alternative économique? , RIUESS 2015, Myriam Matray, Jacques Poisat

Les Pôles territoriaux de coopération économique visent à organiser la coopération en vue de produire de la richesse territoriale au profit des citoyens, tout en s’inscrivant dans les politiques publiques de développement.

• Communs et transformations sociales : Expériences européennes sous un regard pluriel, Cahier de Recherche Chaire ESS-UPEM 2016

Est-il possible de concevoir certaines des réalités de l’économie sociale et solidaire comme des modèles de communs ?

Co-operation in Mesopotamia is one of the Solidarity Economy Association (SEA)’s major, and most successful projects. Its aim is to foster international solidarity and further education about the largely women-driven co-operative economy that is growing, despite ongoing war, in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, commonly known as Rojava.

The project began with a research, translation and education focus, and over the past 3 years SEA has shared over 300 articles on the website, run around 30 workshops all over the UK, and developed strong relationships with many partners, including women’s economic bodies in Rojava, as well as co-ops and co-op bodies in the UK. The project has received overwhelmingly positive engagement, and the UK co-op movement is now much better informed about its counterpart in Rojava.

Here is the article of October 23

Four new women’s co-operative projects open in Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (Rojava)

Several new women’s co-operative projects have opened in the Jazira region of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (Rojava).

The projects focus on agriculture, animal husbandry, food, and clothing, and will contribute yet further to the thriving women’s economy in the region. They are located in the city of Hesekê and have been developed by the Women’s Committee in the Hesekê Economy Directorate.

The projects are run co-operatively and include:

A dairy farm in Hesekê’s El Silêymaniyê village, which has been built by 11 women and active since 1^st September. Duha Mihemed, one of the women involved in the project, said that it was important for the spirit of partnership, and to prevent commercial fraud.

The Inanna Kitchen, which opened in the El Kelase village of Hesekê, where women prepare food for the winter and sell it for well below market prices, and prepare daily meals. One of the project’s partners, Zêneb Umer, said they are taking some of the burden off women’s shoulders.

The Ishtar Women’ Bakery in the El Nasre neighbourhood, opened by 8 women.

The Women’s Committee has been supporting the development of agriculture in Hesekê too, distributing most of the region’s arable land among 300 women. These women have started to produce crops in these plots, and wells will also be created in the coming days.

In addition, generators have been established along several of the city’s streets, providing power for 130 homes each.

Women’s Committee administrator Cewhera Mihemed said they are launching new projects to develop the women’s economy in the region though co-operatives.

The INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF TRANSFORMING ECONOMIES will take place on 6 and 7 December in Cordoba.

The III Solidarity Economy Congress announced for these dates has become an open appointment to experiences from other countries thanks to the willingness of the promoters to give this space a larger dimension, encompassing international references and relating to transforming economies with a transnational perspective.

Organized by REAS Andalusia and the University of Cordoba, the meeting will focus on analyzing, disseminating and relating transformative economic practices that are not only possible and alternatives but for many are already in the process of realization and able to demonstrate the validity of proposals that place people at the center of their development as protagonists of the economy. Related to each other because we share values and a common ethic that prevails over the intention of profit, the transforming economies will meet in Cordoba at the end of the year to become entangled with agents of SSE, public administrations, NGOs and with developing sectors, entrepreneurship, culture, education and people interested in making the economy a motor of social change towards more human coexistence, a fairer distribution and a transformed world from the sustainability of the environment and the care for life.

More info at:
Área de Cooperación y Solidaridad – Universidad de Córdoba
formacion.desarrollo@uco.es – (+34) 957 21 20 29
www.economiasolidaria.org/encuentro2018

Extract of UN displaynews

NEW YORK (19 October 2018) –  Widespread privatisation of public goods in many societies is systematically eliminating human rights protections and further marginalising those living in poverty, according to a new report.

Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, criticised the extent to which the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and even the UN itself have aggressively promoted widespread privatisation of basic services, without regard to the human rights implications or the consequences for the poor. He also criticised human rights groups for not responding strongly enough to the resulting challenges.

“Privatising the provision of criminal justice, social protection, prisons, education, basic healthcare and other essential public goods cannot be done at the expense of throwing rights protections out of the window,” Alston said.

“States can’t dispense with their human rights obligations by delegating core services and functions to private companies on terms that they know will effectively undermine those rights for some people.”

He noted that while “proponents present privatisation as a technical solution for managing resources and reducing fiscal deficits, it has actually become an ideology of governance that devalues public goods, public spaces, compassion and a range of other values that are essential for a decent society.

“While privatisation’s proponents insist that it saves money, enhances efficiency, and improves services, the real world evidence very often challenges or contradicts these claims,” Alston said.

Privatisation is premised on fundamentally different assumptions from those that underpin respect for human rights, such as dignity and equality, he said. It inevitably prioritises profit, and sidelines considerations such as equality and non-discrimination. Rights-holders are transformed into clients, and those who are poor, needy, or troubled are marginalised or excluded. Human rights criteria are absent from almost all privatisation agreements, which rarely include provisions for sustained monitoring of their impact on service provision and the poor.

“Existing human rights accountability mechanisms are clearly inadequate for dealing with the challenges of large-scale and widespread privatisation,” Alston said. “The human rights community can no longer ignore the consequences of privatisation and needs to radically reconsider its approach.”

Human rights actors should start by reclaiming the moral high ground and reasserting the central role of concepts such as equality, society, the public interest, and shared responsibilities, while challenging the assumption that privatisation should be the default approach. “The human rights community needs to develop new methods that systematically confront the broader implication of widespread privatisation and ensure that human rights and accountability are at the centre of privatisation efforts,” Alston said.

There appear to be no limits to what states have privatised, he said. Public institutions and services across the world have been taken over by private companies dedicated to profiting from key parts of criminal justice systems and prisons, dictating educational priorities and approaches, deciding who will receive health interventions and social protection, and choosing what infrastructure will be built, where, and for whom, often with harsh consequences for the most marginalised. “There is a real risk that the waves of privatisation experienced to date will soon be followed by a veritable tsunami,” Alston said.

Privatisation of social protection often leads to a focus on economic efficiency concerns that aim to minimise time spent per client, close cases earlier, generate fees wherever possible, and cater to those better-off, pushing those with less resources and more complex problems to the margins.