Apologies for cross-posting.
new ephemera issue on local solidarity
ephemera announces the publication of a special issue on local solidarity
The new issue (7.3) of ephemera: theory & politics in organization, entitled
"Local Solidarity: Historical and Contemporary Experiments in Socially Responsive
Business Development" has just been published at
http://www.ephemeraweb.org.
This latest special issue of ephemera offers a critical engagement with and exploration
of alternatives to the normative framework of corporate social responsibility within
organization studies. Solidarity is a social bond of affection and identity that
unites family, tribe, ethnic group, and nation. It may also extend to an inclusive
view of humanity unmarred by invidious distinctions. While all organizations and
communities depend upon group cohesion, solidarity is a special form of cooperation
that may transcend sectarian interests and boundaries. Among the social institutions
that may be described as instantiations of solidarity, one would include social
security, universal health care, cooperatives, trade union federations, and social
regulations of broad public benefit. None of these reflect an abstract and disinterested
universalism. Rather, each links and realizes specific interests within the context
of universal guarantees.
This special issue of ephemera incorporates a diverse set of case studies: Charles
J. Whalen's analysis of labor friendly economic development efforts in Western
New York State, Latha Poonamallee's consideration of an Indian town's struggles
to avoid the perils of globalization, Richard Marens' account of labor's
pension fund strategies, and John T. Luhman's study of the potential of worker
cooperatives as a tool for social change. We hope that the explorations of this
special issue will instigate an appreciation for fresh work to be done, both in
life and in contemporary organization studies research practices. As our guest
editor David Jacobs suggest, all are experiments in "local solidarity,"
solidaristic initiatives which pursue shared economic security in an environment
dominated by large, hierarchical, profit-maximizing corporations. All depend upon
intertwined conceptions of enterprise and community
Editorial
David Jacobs
Local Solidarity: Historical and Contemporary Experiments in Socially Responsive
Business Development
http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/7-3/7-3editorial.pdf
Articles
Charles J. Whalen
Union-Driven Economic Development Initiatives and Community Solidarity in Western
New York
http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/7-3/7-3whalen.pdf
Latha Poonamallee
Sustainability and Solidarity in a Globalized World: The Case of a Local Network
Economy in Rural India
http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/7-3/7-3poonamallee.pdf
Richard Marens
Extending Frames and Breaking Windows:Labor Activists as Shareholder
Advocates
http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/7-3/7-3marens.pdf
John T. Luhman
Worker-Ownership as an Instrument for solidarity and Social Change
http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/7-3/7-3luhman.pdf
David C. Jacobs
Associate Professor of Labor, Business, and Society
Earl Graves School of Business and Management
Morgan State University
Baltimore, Maryland
http://dc.david.jacobs.googlepages.com/welcome.html