---
title: "Solidarity Economy Models | Ethnic Studies"
description: "Solidarity economy models are community-based economic systems in Ethnic Studies that prioritize mutual aid, equity, and sustainability over profit."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/hs-ethnic-studies/key-terms/solidarity-economy-models"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Ethnic Studies"
unit: "Unit 12"
---

# Solidarity Economy Models | Ethnic Studies

## Definition

Solidarity economy models are economic systems built around mutual aid, cooperation, and community well-being instead of profit first. In Ethnic Studies, they show how people create alternatives to unequal capitalist structures.

## What It Is

In Ethnic Studies, solidarity economy models are economic frameworks that put people, communities, and the environment ahead of profit. They include ways of organizing work, exchange, and ownership that try to reduce inequality and give communities more control over what they need.

The basic idea is simple: instead of treating money-making as the main goal, these models treat fairness, cooperation, and collective survival as the goal. That can look like worker-owned businesses, community land projects, mutual aid networks, local food systems, or exchange systems like time banking and bartering. The point is not just to trade differently, but to build a different kind of relationship between people and resources.

Ethnic Studies pays attention to solidarity economy models because economic systems are never neutral. They affect who gets access to housing, food, jobs, health care, and safety, and those outcomes often line up with race, class, migration status, and colonial history. A solidarity economy model is one response to that reality, especially in communities that have been excluded or exploited by mainstream markets.

These models also connect to local power. A neighborhood cooperative or community-supported agriculture program keeps more decision-making close to the people affected by it. That can build resilience when larger systems fail, like when global price changes, layoffs, or supply chain problems hit a community hard. In that sense, solidarity economy is not just a theory, it is a practical way communities try to meet needs together.

A common mistake is to treat solidarity economy as the same thing as charity. It is not just giving help to people in need. It is about changing the structure of economic life so people can share power, resources, and responsibility more equally. That makes it a political and cultural concept as much as an economic one.

## Why It Matters

Solidarity economy models matter in Ethnic Studies because they give you a way to analyze how communities respond to economic inequality, not just how they are affected by it. When a class looks at global economic systems, this term helps explain why some communities build cooperative food networks, alternative currencies, or mutual aid projects instead of relying only on corporations or state systems.

It also shows how race, ethnicity, and economics connect. Communities that face discrimination, labor exploitation, or uneven access to resources often create their own systems of support. That can be part of Indigenous economic practices, immigrant community organizing, or local struggles against wealth concentration.

This term is also useful for comparing competing ideas about how society should work. A solidarity economy is one alternative to models that focus on profit maximization, outsourcing, and offshoring. It gives you a vocabulary for talking about who benefits from an economy, who gets left out, and how people organize to push back.

## Connections

### Cooperatives

Cooperatives are one of the most direct examples of a solidarity economy model. Instead of outside owners making all the decisions and taking most of the profit, members or workers share ownership and governance. In Ethnic Studies, cooperatives often show how communities build economic power locally when mainstream systems do not meet their needs.

### [indigenous economic practices](/hs-ethnic-studies/key-terms/indigenous-economic-practices)

Indigenous economic practices often overlap with solidarity economy ideas because they center reciprocity, community responsibility, and land-based relationships. The connection matters in Ethnic Studies because colonial systems disrupted many Indigenous ways of organizing exchange and labor. Studying both terms helps you see how economic life is tied to sovereignty and cultural survival.

### [global wealth inequality](/hs-ethnic-studies/key-terms/global-wealth-inequality)

Solidarity economy models are often proposed as a response to global wealth inequality. When wealth is concentrated in a few hands, communities may lack access to food, housing, and stable work. This term helps you explain why alternative economic arrangements develop in places shaped by poverty, extraction, and unequal trade.

### [labor rights across borders](/hs-ethnic-studies/key-terms/labor-rights-across-borders)

Labor rights across borders connects to solidarity economy models because both focus on fair treatment of workers, especially when companies move production across countries. Ethnic Studies often looks at how migrant, racialized, and low-wage workers are affected by global labor systems. Solidarity economy thinking asks how workers can gain more power and protection together.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz question might ask you to identify whether a community project fits a solidarity economy model or a profit-driven model. In a short response, you would point to features like shared ownership, mutual aid, ethical consumption, local control, or resource distribution. If the prompt gives you a case study, trace how the project responds to inequality, such as food access, labor exploitation, or housing insecurity. In class discussion or an essay, you may compare it to capitalism, cooperatives, or Indigenous approaches to exchange and explain what problem the model is trying to solve.

## Key Takeaways

- Solidarity economy models are economic systems that prioritize people, community well-being, and sustainability over profit.
- In Ethnic Studies, the term matters because economic inequality is tied to race, ethnicity, migration, labor, and colonial history.
- These models can include cooperatives, mutual aid networks, barter systems, time banking, and community-owned projects.
- The goal is not just charity or small-scale trade, but a different structure for sharing power and resources.
- You can use this term to explain how communities create alternatives when mainstream economic systems leave them out.

## FAQs

### What is solidarity economy models in Ethnic Studies?

Solidarity economy models are community-centered economic systems that value cooperation, fairness, and shared well-being more than profit. In Ethnic Studies, the term helps explain how marginalized communities build alternatives to unequal economic systems. It is about structure, not just generosity.

### Is a solidarity economy the same as charity?

No. Charity gives help to people, but a solidarity economy tries to change how resources, work, and ownership are organized in the first place. The focus is on mutual aid, shared power, and long-term community control. That makes it a system-change idea, not just a donation idea.

### What are examples of solidarity economy models?

Examples include worker cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, time banking, barter networks, and mutual aid groups. These examples usually share three traits: local control, shared benefit, and an effort to meet needs without putting profit first. They are often used in communities facing economic exclusion.

### How do solidarity economy models connect to capitalism?

They are often presented as alternatives to capitalist systems that concentrate wealth and put profit first. Ethnic Studies looks at how capitalism has affected different racial and ethnic communities unevenly, so solidarity economy models are one way communities resist those patterns. They do not erase capitalism, but they offer a different logic for exchange and ownership.

## Related Study Guides

- [12.1 Global economic systems](/hs-ethnic-studies/unit-12/global-economic-systems/study-guide/hxePGjNBBbVguOF2)

## About This Document

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