The author analyzes the theoretical definitions of solidarity economies, a concept that has experienced a renaissance across all continents in recent decades, and considers to what extent this emerging form of alternative economies is transformative and emancipatory in relation to the neoliberal market economy. Through the process of distinguishing and unifying two similar but different concepts, namely the solidarity economy and the social economy, the author identifies the implications arising from their compatibilities and antagonisms. Selected historical insights into the practices of solidarity economies allow the author to explore how the concept has evolved, where it has arrived, and defines the most pressing “absences” in its genealogy. In addition to identifying the contents, goals and potentials of solidarity economies, the author offers a critical consideration and re-examination of the starting points and assumptions of the concept, which could be improved not only with theoretical knowledge but also with the production of the reappropriation of the commons (commonalism).
