Aux origines de l'entrepreneuriat social. Les affaires selon Jean-Baptiste André Godin (1817-1888)

Sophie Boutillier

Innovations, 2009, vol. n° 30, issue 2, 115-134

Abstract: Since the beginning of the 1990?s, the social entrepreneur has become a fundamental actor within capitalism. But, what is a social entrepreneur, one must ask? The question is debated and defies consensus. Is an entrepreneur social because he founds a nonprofit enterprise? If so, then how can he live in the free market economy? Alternately, is the entrepreneur social because he finances social ventures from profits? To illustrate this conundrum, consider 19th century French entrepreneur Jean-Baptiste André Godin (1817-1888) who was both a technological and a social innovator. He invented a new system of heating and also made a fortune creating a ?familistère? according to the theory of Charles Fourier. The workers (who chose to do so) lived in the familistère, enjoying a large range of welfare activities (care, social insurance, etc). Their children were also educated by the enterprise. The economic strategy of Godin was rational because his enterprise was more profitable than others. Indeed, for many decades the familistère of Godin was the market leader. So, then, we must also consider a follow-on question: Is the social entrepreneur paternalistic? JEL codes: P12, 013, N83

Keywords: entrepreneur; innovation; social economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N83 P12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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