2020 Manifesto for the Social Economy
In the Covid-19 pandemic, the immediate concern of European citizens is with the spread of the virus and the public health crisis, with the lock downs and their economic consequences and with the response of governments. The crisis demonstrates the importance of the foundational economy. This is the part of the economy which cannot be shut down because it produces essential goods and services; and the list of key workers in each national economy provides a practical definition of what counts as foundational.
But what comes after the immediate crisis is over? After the crisis, do we default back to the “same old, same old”; or can we make the case for a renewal of the foundational provision which has been neglected in the past generation. Before the crisis we developed and publicly supported the foundational economy concept; now foundational thinking is more relevant than ever to a liveable, sustainable and democratic future. Please read What Comes after the Pandemic? from the Foundational Economy Collective about a ten point platform for renewal. Or, the 2020 Manifesto which is a shorter version of the argument.
Here's the link to the article: https://foundationaleconomy.com/english-covid-19-report/
Replies
Foundational Economy
I think that the rapid rise in the importance of the foundational economy in the context of COVD-19 is an important consideration with implications for the roles that industrial clusters can play in the reconstruction and renewal of regional economies. It is likely to imply a stronger role for 'local' clusters and closer collaboration between these local, non-traded clusters and our internationally-competitive industrial clusters.
In particular, stronger links between the two offers real opportunities in terms of how we emerge from the socioeconomic crisis precipitated by COVID. Rather than returning to 'business as usual', we have an opportunity to leverage clusters to rebuild supply chains and economic activity in ways that respond to some of the big challenges we were already facing as societies: the climate emergency, the digital revolution, demographic transitions, gender dynamics, etc..
At Orkestra we have been reflecting on these opportunities over the last couple of weeks in the context of analysing the socioeconomic impacts of COVID in the Basque Country, developing this document which may be of interest: https://www.orkestra.deusto.es/es/investigacion/publicaciones/informes/informes-especiales-covid-19/1917-200014-socioeconomic-impacts-covid-19-autonomous-community-basque-country.
James Wilson