Social cooperation in Italy: history and inclusive perspectives

Abstract

This contribution aims at briefly analysing the history of social cooperation in Italy, as a valuable and pluralistic reality in continuous expansion and transformation. The study and monitoring over time of cooperative organizations, with their occupational and economic impact, reveal a significant development in the community context of reference with regard to the supply of social, health and educational services, as well as opportunities for social and work inclusion also for people with disabilities. The historical narrative of Italian social cooperatives goes hand in hand with a possible global response to the needs of humanity, the demand for economic democracy and sustainable development. In the dramatic era of the Coronavirus, the culture of cooperation needs to be shaped according to a complex and peculiar business model, inspired by principles of solidarity and mutualism not conveyed by rhetoric but by social responsibility enhanced by inclusive processes.