ABSTRACT
According to the prevailing interpretation, adding the term “solidarity” only marginally changes the social economy. Contradicting this interpretation, the hypothesis of this chapter consists of arguing that the advent of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) is not insignificant but offers the opportunity for a practical and theoretical overhaul of the field as it stands. Analysis of the shifts in the mid-19th century and at the end of the 20th century reveals two contrasting scenarios, one in which the solidarity economy is simply an appendage on the margins of a social economy that is still seen as a grouping together of collective enterprises, and another whereby the SSE calls for a new interpretation more appropriate to the challenges of a 21st century in which it is a matter of moving on from the grouping together of enterprises to create a solidarity social economy.
