Jack Quarter - Understanding the Social Economy: A Canadian Perspective

The social economy has always been with us; for as long as there have been government and for-profit enterprises, there have been people who have sought to advance the broad prosperity of our society from the peripheries of these two economic behemoths. These people, by and large, recognized a pressing social need and worked diligently whether as part of a non-profit, co-operative, community organization, or social enterprise to address it outside the standard strictures of business and government. They were typically driven not, as some have conjectured, by a hatred of profits or by bleeding-heart liberalism, but by a recognition that there is some necessary work government and business are not equipped or inclined to do effectively. In embracing this work, the social sector created a third way. This is the heart of the social economy and it is, as I say, nothing new.

What is new is our collective understanding and categorization of this social sector, and our explicit acknowledgment that it is worthy of study and analysis on its own merits. Until relatively recently, the social sector, and thus its true impact on our society, was largely hidden. The myriad participants in what has now come to be recognized as the social sector were lumped into awkward subcategories of the public and private sectors, treated as an insignificant afterthought, or ignored entirely by academia, industry, and policymakers. But in the past decade, we have finally come to see the sector in its collective strength; it is finally being recognized for its size, its economic importance, its social impact, and its unique contribution to society.

A text like Understanding the Social Economy: A Canadian Perspective, which takes a comprehensive view of the sector as a whole, is an important next step in deepening our understanding of the social economy. I am particularly pleased that my University of Toronto colleagues, Ann Armstrong from the Rotman School of Management, along with Jack Quarter from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), and Laurie Mook formerly from the University of Toronto and now from Arizona State University, have emerged at the forefront of this burgeoning field. In this text, they have created a usable and effective guidebook to understanding the Canadian social economy in the broad, global context. By thoughtfully combining commentary, sector analysis, and case studies, they have usefully blended the 30,000-foot overview of the mountain with a detailed examination of what is happening at the rock face. In doing so, they have devised a helpful classification scheme and identified critical issues that will lay the foundation for further research in the field. This text therefore represents a vital step to increasing the reach and effectiveness of the social economy sector, as its participants continue to shape our society for the better.

Roger Martin

Former Dean, Rotman School of Management