Social Economy in China and the World

Thirty-years of economic transformation has turned China into one of the major players in the global capitalist economy. However, its economic growth has generated rising problems in inequality, alienation, and sustainability with the agrarian crises of the 1990s giving rise to real social outcry to the extent that they became the object of central government policy reformulations.

Contributing to a paradigm-shift in the theory and practices of economic development, this book examines the concept of social economy in China and around the world. It offers to rethink space, economy and community in a trans-border context which moves us beyond both planned and market economies. The chapters address theoretical issues, critical reflections and case studies on the practice of social economy in the context of globalization and its attempt to create an alternative modernity. Through this, the book builds a platform for further cross-disciplinary and cross-boundary dialogue on the future of social economy in China and the world.

With examples from Asia, North America, Latin America and Europe this book will not only appeal to students and scholars of Chinese and Asian social policy and development, but also those of social economy from an international perspective.

Preface Part I: Rethinking Economy 1.Social Economics and Economic Anthropology: Challenging Conventional Economic Thinking and Practice John Clammer 2. Mapping Social and Solidarity Economy: The Local and Translocal Evolution of a Concept Craig Borowiak 3.Rethinking the Politics of the Mainstream Co-op Movement Carl Ratner Part II: Social Economy in the World 4.Workers’ Cooperative Movement in Argentina Andrés Ruggeri5.La Alameda: « Guerrilla » Struggles to Make the Argentine Economy Social Doris Lee6. Democratizing Capital: Social and Solidarity Finance in Quebec Marguerite Mendell 7.The Struggle for Public Power in the United States Richard H. Rudolph 8.Workers’ Cooperatives in Italy - Between Solidarity and Autocratic Centralism Devi Sacchetto and Marco Semenzin 9.Developing Solidarity Economy in Asia: Innovations in Policy and Practice Denison Jayasooria Part III: Social Economy in Chinese Societies 10. Zhoujiazhuang Village: A Study of the Heritage of the People’s Commune Pun Ngai, Lu Huilin and Li Changjiang 11.Debating the Rural Cooperative Movement in China, the Past and the Present Yan Hairong and Chen Yiyuen 12. « Yingxiu Mother » as Agent of Community Development: Case Study of a Practice of Community Economy in Sichuan Post-disaster Rebuilding in China Hok Bun Ku and Yuna Ma 13. Local Economy Growing at a Steady Pace: The Case of the Peasant Farming Project by The Taiwan Rural Front Pei-hui Tsai and Chi-wei Liu 14. In the Struggle over Urban Space: The Solidarity Economy Movement and Urban Utopianism in Hong Kong Terence Yuen and Pauline Chan