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Dignity Restoration: The Indirect Goal of Social Enterprises’ Activity

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Dignity and the Organization

Part of the book series: Humanism in Business Series ((HUBUS))

Abstract

“Things have a price and can be for sale, but people have a dignity that is priceless and worth far more than things”. These words by Pope Francis (Pinterest n.d.) accurately describe the essence of the chapter. Immanuel Kant—considered to be the father of contemporary thought on human dignity—also describes dignity as a value that is beyond any price (Kant 1964). Dignity is not given; we do not have to offer something or do something to have it. We are born with this precious value. This is an inherent aspect of our humanity. We may sometimes have difficulties with defining dignity; yet, we know when it has been disturbed. It is because “dignity is like air and just as important. When there’s enough of it, you don’t notice it. You don’t think about it. When there’s a lack of air, you suffocate. All you want is air” (Aubanova and Dull 2012, p. 10).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The social enterprise involved in the author’s ethnographic study on the identity of the social enterprise conducted from March 2007 to October 2008. The real name of the organisation is in disguise.

  2. 2.

    The social economy sector is often referred to as the non-profit sector, the third sector, the voluntary sector, the charitable sector or the independent sector (Borzaga and Defourny 2001).

  3. 3.

    All quotations under this subtitle come from recorded interviews with the SCU actors or people closely cooperating with the Southeast Credit Union. The real names of the interlocutors are in disguise.

  4. 4.

    Annual Percentage Rate (APR).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Electron Technology, Warsaw, Poland

    Aneta Milczarczyk

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  1. Aneta Milczarczyk
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

    Monika Kostera

  2. Fordham University, New York, USA

    Michael Pirson

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Milczarczyk, A. (2017). Dignity Restoration: The Indirect Goal of Social Enterprises’ Activity. In: Kostera, M., Pirson, M. (eds) Dignity and the Organization. Humanism in Business Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55562-5_7

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