Notes on the Solidarity Economy
Replacing the Predatory with the Complementary
by Devon G. Peña
By now it is eminently apparent that both Left- and Right-wing politicians alike have it wrong when it comes to re-imagining the future of “making stuff” 
in the U.S. The question is not just: What do we make? It is also: How do we make it?
We can begin to answer this by presenting an ideal type in the form of a purely heuristic “imagine that…” type of exercise. The conceptual distinction I wish to make is between a “predatory” economy at one end of the continuum and a “solidarity” economy at the other. I invite readers to engage this exercise of exploring both ends of this continuum, for the sake of analytical discourse and concrete possibilities alike.
Indeed, while the problems before us are manifold, it is equally the case that the answers we seek are closer at hand than it might otherwise appear. (more…)
