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Zeitgeist (the spirit of the time)-moving forward." This banner hanging in Victoria Square is a reflection of the desire to counter the disastrous effects of the financialization of the world economy.
The discontent expressed by the hundred or so protesters who have set up camp in the business district is not simply a spontaneous movement.
During the International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy, many speakers also denounced the excesses of Wall Street speculators and spoke out about the merits of a collective entrepreneurial approach. During the 2008 recession, collective and cooperative enterprises were remarkably able to resist the wild fluctuations in the world economy. This ability to weather the storm was not a matter of chance. Their modes of governance and participatory management provide an effective firewall against the excesses of individualism and the headlong pursuit of profit. By making human beings the central concern, social economy enterprises enable the creation of wealth while contributing to an active citizenry. Acting collectively is one of the possible solutions for those who wish to forge ahead without the fear of locking themselves into the here and now.
Claude Lauzon, Director