Social Alternatives in Southern Europe and Latin America: Solidarity, Mutual Aid, and Cooperation in Comparative Perspective (19th–21st Centuries)

This book deals with the evolution of initiatives connected to the social and solidarity economy and their political cultures and educational implications in the south of Europe and in Latin America. Employing a comparative perspective, the contributors present 11 studies of these trajectories in Argentina, Chile, Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, and Catalonia in order to engender familiarity with social tributary practices and projects in the Latin world. As the cyclical crises of capitalism and their resulting inequalities have created proposals of reform and brought them into action, certain shared ideological influences and policies have emerged across these societies. Faced with the interpretative schemes used for the Anglo-Saxon sphere, which have been the usual reference in international research, this volume’s geographical and cultural matrix of analysis helps fill a longstanding gap in this field. The book will be of interest to scholars, educators, and students specialising in the history and political science of the social and solidarity economy sectors, as well as professionals involved in cooperatives, mutual aid societies, and associations.