Lhe record fundraising by tech start-ups and the media and political enthusiasm they generate reveal the priorities of our economy: split payment solutions for impulse purchases, speculation on cryptocurrencies, Internet advertising solution… Above-ground priorities in the face of social and ecological realities. It is becoming essential to take up these subjects and bring out a truly responsible and democratic economic model.
Years and warnings pass, but the conclusion is the same: while nearly half of humanity lives in situations highly vulnerable to climate change, the financial economy places our resources in activities that compromise life on earth. In a disconcerting cynicism, the proponents of finance turn out to be cut off from the world and its crises.
After decades of neoliberalism which gave all power to the financial markets, restoring the sovereignty of citizens over economic orientations is essential. On this path towards economic democracy, citizen initiatives play a central role. Often in the form of cooperative societies of collective interest, these approaches are based on a radically different economic model, where citizens are fully involved.
This way of doing business is implemented on a national scale and in various key sectors of the ecological transition: food, energy, mobility, telecommunications, finance, second-hand purchases. Many similar initiatives are also developing at the local level. Gathered in cooperatives, hundreds of thousands of citizens thus demonstrate a democratic economic system.
Exemplary initiatives
To enable exemplary initiatives to move forward, it is necessary to promote their citizen funding. We, leaders of cooperative enterprises gathered in the Licoornes alliance, propose a strengthening of public support, for example by increasing the tax deduction linked to investments by individuals in these structures. Indeed, because the cooperatives do not or hardly remunerate their capital, investment funds, however “committed” they may be, are rare in financing these structures, which drastically limits their development possibilities.
Under these conditions, they cannot play on equal terms with their competitors stuffed with millions. For example, while Back Market, a platform for the sale of refurbished electronic objects, raised 450 million euros in 2021, Label Emmaüs, its counterpart in the social and solidarity economy, with only ten times less of employees (including a third in the integration process), raised 150,000 euros (ie 3,500 times less) from small investors!
You have 34.48% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.