4) Beyond Profit and not profit there is a third way

by Gabriele Di Bella e Mattia Rosini - 2011.07.21

As for social economy, Germany represents an atypical case. In 2009, at the height of the economic crisis, the German Government decided to implement a “social market economy”. Even if it is different from “social economy”, these two models have some specific values in common. In Germany many principles that in other European countries refer only to social economy are part of the standard economic system. In order to support German economy, the Government has adopted a number of measures focusing mainly on labour policies (based on a constant dialogue between companies and social partners), environment (thanks to the positive results obtained by the Greens in the last elections) and sustainability (June 4th, 2012 will be the sustainability action day). In this model, for-profit private companies still play a crucial role, whereas Third Sector organisations have a more reduced power.



Such an economic system represents in any case an alternative to social economy and market economy. Its implementation helped Angela Merkel’s Government, because it limited the problems related to the recession and facilitated the exit of Germany from the crisis. Therefore, in Germany social economy is not considered as something in contrast with standard economic model, but it is part of German society. In this context an important role is played by education and mentality. Generally, German culture pays close attention to civic responsibility and common good. There are many examples testifying German civic virtues such as the Active Citizenship Week (its slogan is “Engagement macht stark”, “commitment makes you strong”) which is at its tenth edition, or the different grassroots initiatives involving especially young people, such as the “Jugend debatiert”. This is a debate that has involved more than 100 thousand students and was focused on the question “Are you committed to social or political life?”. Another important initiative is the “Sozialgenial” project. It involves the students of North Rhine-Westphalia region and is aimed at helping foreign children read and offering assistance to elderly.



However, although the general situation is quite positive, at the political level there would be other things to do. “Organisations and foundations need reforms improving the context they work in,” says Stefan Nährlich, CEO of the association Aktive Bürgerschaft (active citizenship). “They need, for example, a genuine simplification of the Law on donations. They must have the possibility to use their financial resources throughout a longer period of time, improve their ability to generate new revenues and make the use of such revenues more flexible. These areas of action need the contribution of politics. If citizens are asked to do their part for the common wellbeing, they must be helped”.



The Government’s action has been crucial for promoting the reform of the Law on voluntary work. The reform, which has come into force this month, confers on federal Government the competence on such a matter. It also abolishes mandatory military service and the age limit (27) for community service(http://engagement-macht-stark.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=19&Itemid=337). However, nevertheless, the policies regarding Third Sector are quite woolly. “Federal Government identified its role in October 2010, through the national Strategy for civic commitment”, says Nährlich, “but this does not contribute to promoting Third Sector. It is an unsuccessful attempt of making policy through citizens’ personal commitment”.



But if the Parliament does not have clear ideas, the same cannot be said for the economic world. “The social commitment demonstrated by German companies becomes increasingly important. The concepts of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility are considered very seriously in Germany. Third Sector organisations, in collaboration with private companies have created new activities, projects and plans. For instance, since 2002, many companies have been involved, at the national level, in a project promoted by Aktive Bürgerschaft. The project is based on Bürgerstiftungen (community foundations) that act as intermediary, thanks to their flexible structure and their experience in the social sector, between companies and the community, establishing a more direct contact between the parties. In this way, companies can contribute to improving the quality of life of citizens and their employees”, says finally Nährlich.



The involvement of companies in social economy concerns the financial aspect as well. German Big Society, indeed, is financially supported both from private and social organisations. Considering a total amount of 70 billion euro for organisations working in the social sector, 1.5 billion euro come from companies investing in social projects, while 750 million euro come from banks. Financial resources also have unexpected origins such as the revenues deriving from fines and lotteries.



The mosaic of German social economy is made of 600 thousand organisations, including both associations and foundations, which influence considerably the general economy of the country. On this purpose, we simply remind that, in 2007, Third Sector made a profit of 90 billion euro (similar to that of the building sector).

Published in Volunteering