(Valdai Paper 2014):  http://valdaiclub.com/publication/78440.html)

We live in a paradoxical time. While international organisations are currently promoting ‘social protection’ in third world countries, these same organisations, helped by the European Union and all national governments, are trying to dismantle the existing social protection mechanisms in Europe. What does it mean? What are the alternatives the left has on offer?

In this contribution, I want to propose a conceptual shift towards ‘social commons’ in order to focus on participatory and democratic decision-making, as well as on the collective dimension and the necessary protection of society itself. Social commons also allow for extending social and economic rights and for linking up with climate justice. They are transformative and contribute to systemic change: at the conceptual level through using feminist economic theory and an emphasis on ‘care’; at the practical level by changing power relations. Social commons are meant to preserve the sustainability of life. Continue…

Human Rights and the Common Good: why social protection is a ‘social commons’
Francine Mestrum* (2013)

Social protection has been put high on the international political agenda by the international development organisations. The ILO (International Labour Organization) has adopted at its International Labour Conference of 2012 a recommendation on ‘social protection floors’. UNDESA (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs), UNRISD (UN Research Institute for Social Development), UNICEF (UN Childrens’ Fund) and the World Bank have made their proposals for social protection programmes. The European Commission plans to introduce social protection in its development cooperation programmes. Many speak of ‘transformative’ social protection, though the meaning of this concept is different from one document to another. Continue…