akademie-solidarische-oekonomie.de

1. Workshop SeriesSolidarity EconomyExamples, Initiatives and Strategies in a European ContextENA, 10-13th August 2011 http://www.akademie-solidarische-oekonomie.de

2. Overview Session 1 Wednesday 09.30-12.00: Introduction: Positions, Strategies and Practice H. Bender, G. Giorgi, J. Combes Session 2 Thursday 09.30-12.00 : Routes out of the crises – new perspectives: Enterprises into the hands of the employees! G. Giorgi, H. Daniels, G. Nottenbohm J. Combes, H. Bender. E. Goujot, G. Giorgi, M. Arhelger Session 3 Friday 09.30-12.00 : Social Economy, Solidarity Economy and Distributive Economy – Perspectives of a Post-Growth Economy? H. Bender. Peter Schönhöffer, J. Combes, E. Goujot, Rudi Eichenlaub Session 4 Saturday 09.30-12.00 : Pathes of Transformation and Processes of Change

3. Agenda Session 1 09.30: Welcome and Introduction of Participants 09.40: Introduction of the Workshop Series (Topics and Overview) 09.50: Presentation: Fundamentals of Solidarity Economy (HB) 10.05: Feedbacks and Discussion 10.20: Presentation: Solidarity Economy in Practice (GG) 10.35: Feedbacks and Discussion 10.45: Impuls: Neoliberal Strategies and Solidatrian Counter Positions 11.00: Presentation: European Constitution and the Marcora Legislation 11.30: Feedback and open Discussion

4. Introductory Thesis Why Solidarity Economy?

5. 1 Solidarity Economy is a question of justice and peace, as injustice can only be maintained by all well-known forms of violence. 2 The economic relations of financial capitalism and its order of power - the monetary system – permanently increase social inequality. These are forms of structural injustice and violence.

6. 3 The global economy of markets and power step by step destroys all forms of subsidiary rural life. This leads to rural exodus and fast growing megacities, where life witout money is impossible without fighting and violence. The structural violence of the licit imbalance of monetary power thus takes lethal forms to a rising degree.

7. % p.a. 4 Money should be an aquivalent for achievements of the real economy. It is a cardinal error of the existing monetary system, that it allows to make money out of money (self-referentiality). This error starts with interest rates: As all prices, rental fees and taxes contain about 30-40% of intest costs, all have to pay what some will earn.

8. 5 Owners of capital can make money from money without effort. At the capital markets the self-referential increase of money and monetary titles takes ever new forms and reaches overflowing degrees, challenging the means of whole states and nations. High spirits at the stock exchange

9. 6 The military violence of colonialism in today’s post-colonial era is replaced by the structural violence of a globalized financial system, executed by the IMF, the Worldbank and the WTO. This means institutionalized injustice on a global scale. But also economic war in a more narrow sense is about to be reintroduced to political common sense today.

11. 7 With the financial crisis a bubble of capital has appeared, that might lead to global inflation. For that reason investors try hard to invest the enormous overhang of money in poor southern coun­tries (land grabbing) in order to find yields and returns for the overwhelming capital and to profit from the expected increase in costs of nutrition. As a consequence, peasants are banished from their legally unsheltered grounds favouring a development model based in industrialized agriculture with little employment effects.

12. 8. Conclusion: Under the rule of global financial capitalism and bilateral agreements on free trade (e.g. EPAs) peace in economy is not possible. As a whole, this system can hardly be challenged. At certain crucial points however, relations and institutions within this system may be reshaped in an intelligent way in order to alter and finally transform the system.

13. 9 Until this gains majorities and chances of realisation, a peaceful and solidary economy in parts is allready possible and exists as a peoples movement. Two major complemental aspects are: (a) Selfsteered cooperative enterprises whichcollaborate in solidarity and can therefor survive on the capitalist market. (b) In self-sufficient regions, that are able to meet basic demands by themselves, an interest-free regional currency based on real productionand services can be introduced. The enterprises, service-providers and customers, that take part in his alternative monetary system, can establish cooperative producer and cosumer networks in contrast to capitalist economy.

14. 10 Regional cooperatives and communities can establish such realms within themselves in order to develop an economy of basic services basing on an owncomplementary system of money or payment that is open for eveyone. Such a communitarian economy could fairly integratethose who otherwise would have no chance to escape unemployment, hunger and homelessness.

15. Workshop Solidary Economy – Introductory Thesis Thank youfor your participation