ABSTRACT
In this final chapter, we evaluate the prospects of the social economy in light of the evidence gathered. The case histories tell a story of enormous variety within and between places to the point of questioning the very meaning of the term ‘the social economy’. At one extreme, some initiatives, though formally non-profit-based, are only marginally different from small private sector enterprises in terms of their business organisation and market practices. Their ‘social’ commitment lies in facilitating the reinsertion of the socially excluded into the mainstream economy, through support for entrepreneurship (e.g. low-cost premises) or direct employment and schemes to improve employability. At the other extreme, other initiatives are wedded to an alternative economic culture that differs sharply from the market philosophy, centred instead around the provision of socially useful services, meeting needs, ethical trade, and social/community empowerment and democratisation.
