Eric E. van Monckhoven

When the world was passed on to my generation in the 1960s, there was much criticism about what was needed to reach capitalism's dreams of progress. Such criticism was associated with new social movements that were concerned with peace, environmental  awareness, civil rights, social justice, and a wide range of reforms at local and global level. One consequence was the inevitable conservative backlash that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. Then in the beginning of the 1990s the Soviet Union collapsed. We were left with only one world and the implications could not have been more profound. 

We live in a rapidly changing world that is transforming before our very eyes in a global marketplace dominated by a vision of the world we could call "free trade catechism". This vision sees market-like structures acting as a guide for all human actions and praises the rule of competition more than the spirit of solidarity and cooperation. In this prospect, the dream of prosperity for all may never be fulfilled in view of the scarcity of natural resources and the huge inequalities in income distribution. Millions of workers, in both hemispheres, have to barter their labor force to survive, or must emigrate. Many are turning to depression, violence or political and religious extremism. Technology displacement, job loss and reduced purchasing power are leading to a growing and dramatic rise in crime and random violence. Areas of life traditionally considered out of bounds like the water we drink or the diverse wildlife of the world are considered for monetized activity, private ownership and global trade. 

Today, a plethora of deep global and local concerns in every field of life are calling for answers. It is unlikely that corporations and governments will play a leading role in bringing over suitable solutions. Corporations are too busy counting their gains and governments hampered by long-term debts and growing budget deficits. In virtually every industrial nation, central governments are shrinking from their traditional tasks of guaranteeing markets, lessening both their economic influence over transnationals and their power to effect the well-being of their citizens.

As a development aid worker, I have been a bit around, both in Europe and overseas. I've seen there is a whole diverse world waiting for us out there. The big question mark is on how to redirect the talent, energy, and resourcefulness of millions people to constructive ends. The power-vacuum left by governments and corporations in many areas is taken up by the growth of an increased outlaw subculture. The only realistic alternative is a greater participation in the new social and community-based economy or so called third sector. 

In the end of the 1990s, numbers were talking of 1.400.000 organizations belonging to the third sector in the USA, compared to 350.000 in the UK, 300.000 in Germany, 50.000 in France (6% of total employment), and 23.000 in Japan. This did not include the growing influence of the third sector in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where thousands of volunteer organizations have been born in the last decades. More recently, the European Union evaluated that there were more than 11 millions jobs in the social economy across Europe representing 10% of European businesses. 

Preparing for a post-market era will require a far greater attention to the renewal of the spirit of cooperation and solidarity, and more investments in the building up of a strong third sector. Nobody can predict if this social utopia will become reality or not. However, it is clear that today’s world needs a new paradigm that balances individual self-interest in the market with a collective sense of responsibility for both each other's welfare and the health of our small planet. To be part of the new social and solidarity economy  or not will determine the future of us all.

I hope we can join forces.

January 2012