A Complement to the Market and State: Community Self-Help as a Coping Strategy

Abstract

In this chapter, we consider the view that rather than being seen primarily as a route into employment, mutual aid and self-help should be seen as complementary to it. Analysts within this tradition argue for a major shift in the balance of the mixed economy (e.g. Aznar, 1981; Beck, 2000; Delors, 1979; Giddens, 2000; Greffe, 1981; Jordan, 1998; Laville, 1995, 1996; Mayo, 1996; Roustang, 1987; Sachs, 1984; Williams and Windebank, 2001a). The scenario that they advance is one in which work in the public (state), private (market) and civil (community self-help) spheres coexist and in which there is a more flexible organisation of work time. They all call for a new balance between employment and community self-help activities and are interested in the way in which self-help and mutual aid as it exists can be developed alongside employment.