From what I've observed over almost 5 decades, some businesses exist just to do what they do, and making money is just a means to that end. Other businesses exist just to make money, and doing what they do is just a means to that end.
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People are more inclined to support businesses that just want to do the thing, cover upstream costs, and pay their workers a living rate. But the ones that exist just to make money can see that, so they often try to misrepresent themselves as not just chasing money.
One effect of this is making people cynical about whether social enterprises or even co-ops are really any different from for-profits or corporations. Scepticism is warranted. But don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
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Yes, social enterprises and co-ops have to operate within a state-corporate system, they're not magically immune from the effects of this just because they have non-corporate or even anti-corporate ways of working, or legal structures. Their mere existence can't and won't solve all the problems our societies face.
But the more we can build the solidarity economy, the more resources we have to do the other work that's needed.
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