Scaling Up

The Convergence of the Social Economy and Sustainability

Mike Gismondi,Sean Connelly,Mary Beckie,

Distributed for Athabasca University Press

Scaling Up

The Convergence of the Social Economy and Sustainability

Mike Gismondi,Sean Connelly,Mary Beckie,

When citizens take collaborative action to meet the needs of their community, they are participating in the social economy. Co-operatives, community-based social services, local non-profit organizations, and charitable foundations are all examples of social economies that emphasize mutual benefit rather than the accumulation of profit. While such groups often participate in market-based activities to achieve their goals, they also pose an alternative to the capitalist market economy. Contributors to Scaling Up investigated innovative social economies in British Columbia and Alberta and discovered that achieving a social good through collective, grassroots enterprise resulted in a sustainable way of satisfying human needs that was also, by extension, environmentally responsible. As these case studies illustrate, organizations that are capable of harnessing the power of a social economy generally demonstrate a commitment to three outcomes: greater social justice, financial self-sufficiency, and environmental sustainability. Within the matrix of these three allied principles lie new strategic directions for the politics of sustainability.

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Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures ix

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction: Social Economics and Sustainability / Mike Gismondi, Sean Connelly, Mary Beckie, Sean Markey, and Mark Roseland

1 Towards Convergence: An Exploratory Framework 7 / Sean Connelly, Mike Gismondi, Sean Markey, and Mark Roseland

2 The Green Social Economy in British Columbia and Alberta 27 / Mike Gismondi, Lynda Ross, and Juanita Marois

3 The Role of the Social Economy in Scaling Up Alternative Food Initiatives 59 / Mary Beckie and Sean Connelly

4 Human Services and the Caring Society 83 / John Restakis

5 Towards Sustainable Resource Management: Community Energy and Forestry in British Columbia and Alberta 113 / Julie L. MacArthur

6 Evolving Conceptions of the Social Economy: The Arts, Culture, and Tourism in Alert Bay 147 / Kelly Vodden, Lillian Hunt, and Randy Bell

7 Non-Profit and Co-operative Organizations and the Provision of Social Housing 171 / George Penfold, Lauren Rethoret, and Terri MacDonald

8 Land Tenure Innovations for Sustainable Communities 195 / Marena Brinkhurst and Mark Roseland

9 Sustaining Social Democracy Through Heritage-Building Conservation 223 / Noel Keough, Mike Gismondi, and Erin Swift-Leppäkumpu

10 Strong Institutions, Weak Strategies: Credit Unions and the Rural Social Economy 249 / Sean Markey, Freya Kristensen, and Stewart Perry

Conclusion "Social Economizing" Sustainability 271 / Mike Gismondi, Sean Connelly, and Sean Markey

List of Contributors 299

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