Economía social y economía solidaria: Intento de definición

Abstract

The crisis of the development model has given a new validity to organizations that do not belong neither to the traditional private sector nor to the public sector. These organizations receive different names: third sector, solidarity economy, social economy, popular economy, social development organizations, etc. This paper intends to analyse the contexts of some of these terms that designate the activities that escape the capitalist logic and the logic of public administration. The new Venezuelan constitution of 2000 includes in its article 184 a new expression, that of social economy, This term has its origin in the XIX century, when it was used mainly in the French speaking world. The crisis of the fordist model of development has led to a new actualisation of the concept, starting from the 1980´s. The definition of this term vary according to the countries. This paper explores the signification of the expression “social economy” and of other similar expressions. The final part of the paper introduces some criteria for the delimitation of a social economy sector in Venezuela.