Social enterpreneurship can be considered as the use of corporate and ‘capitalist’ formats, but to advance real social goals. In this context, profit is no longer the goal, but merely a means to create sustainable organisational forms that are not dependent on hand-outs or state subsidies.

The excellent, must-read but mostly closed off Kosmos Journal, has an excellent special issue devoted to it. (however see below for a few freely available articles)

Here’s an excerpt from editor-in-chief Nancy Roof’s editorial:

“Again, I was full of excitement and hope as the feature articles began to come in for this issue. It was clear that social entrepreneurs, gone global, were bursting at the seams and implementing creative ideas, with love, backed up by a resolute will. My hopes rose more as I saw our youth step forward to take responsibility for creating the new civilization. Tatiana Glad, amazed me with her ingenuity in founding The Hub, habitats for social entrepreneurs who now flock together in major cities to enhance one another’s innovations. Then, the brilliant Helen Titchen Beeth spun off a casual e-mail to a group about the foundations of systems theory that eventually became a full-scale article for Kosmos. Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee’s idea of producing videos inquiring about the meaning of ‘oneness’ and giving them away without charge, raised my hopes even more for a culture of sharing. And Google Foundation’s leader, Larry Brilliant, a veteran social entrepreneur, is now defining what compassionate capitalism is, while materialistic values reveal their shallowness and ‘giving’ reveals its fulfilling interior rewards.

Then there is the ‘commons’ movement, which identifies a new force in society to protect what should be the common inheritance of all people from the grasp of a few. It is an extension of the idea of civil society and a clearer definition of the need to protect common resources for the good of all humanity. It is a revelation of the current dangers of losing such basic commons goods as the right to water to private profiteers. James Quilligan, Kosmos Board of Directors, and David Bollier are leading the way to civil society as a distinct third force—the hope of the world for fair governance, economic justice and the new civilization.

The great shift of values is expressing itself through all fields of endeavor. Elisabet Sahtouris, our science entrepreneur, has initiated a worldwide effort for a new evolutionary science that she calls Global Sciencing. Barbara Fields engages us with 21st century spirituality based on experiential knowing and spiritual activism. Philip Hellmich, an amazing youth leader, tells an engaging story about how he maintains inner peace while dealing with traumatic conflicts in Africa.”

A number of important articles can be read online:

* Evolutionary Entrepreneurship | Engaging the Collective Will. Helen Titchen Beeth

* The Hub | Creating an Ecology of Social Innovation. Tatiana Glad

* Global Commons Goods | Civil Society as Global Commons Organizations. James Quilligan