Η ανατίμηση του κοινωνικού παράγοντα στην Κοινωνική Αλληλέγγυα Οικονομία

Abstract

This article attempts to reorganize the main characteristics and strategies that have been documented in the literature on the Social Solidarity Economy (hereafter S.S.E.) with the aim of outlining two main approaches: the alleviative and the transformative. The focus on the content, attributed to the social factor in each of the approaches served as a criterion for the above categorization, as the main goal of the article is to explore the potential of S.S.E. to bring about social changes in the realm of socio-economic relations, institutions, and systems.         For this purpose we utilize three features of the theory of structuration, as that theoretical attempt to link human action with institutions and the social system: a) signification, b) domination, and c) legitimation. The idea is to attempt a first coupling of these characteristics with key features attributed to the actions of S.S.E. with the aim of opening new research paths in the direction of studying the relation between S.S.E. and broader social transformations. More specifically, we highlight that consistency in redefining the economy, the strength of democratic solidarity as a bond, and the legitimation of a type of questioning of existing rules are pivotal issues in the transformative potential of the initiatives.