Lo social y lo económico: ¿Dos caras de una misma moneda? La Fundación Social y sus empresas (1984– 2010) (review)

This book offers a historical study of the political thought, social activities, and governance practices that have defined the Fundación Social during the last twenty-five years in Colombia. As part of a larger research endeavor sponsored by the Fundación to celebrate its 100^th anniversary, the authors seek to demonstrate how this social organization has productively combined a quest for economic profit with a social obligation to contribute to the “common good.” As an entrepreneurial group guided by Jesuit priests and strongly informed by Catholic Church teachings, the Fundación, the authors argue, has historically attempted to pursue a business model dedicated to “social justice.” Drawing methodologically on the “grounded theory of reality,” the authors describe the historical development of this organization from its origins as a workers saving association founded at the beginning of the twentieth century to its consolidation into one of the most important and profitable businesses in Colombia. Indeed, the Fundación is today an umbrella organization for a group of banks, insurance companies, and social welfare enterprises that constitute one of the biggest financial groups in the nation.

The book opens with a compressed historical contextualization of the Fundación’s first seven decades. It presents the historical origins as background, indeed as a legacy, to the consolidation of the organization in the last twenty-five years—the main topic of discussion in the book. After a brief methodological chapter, the authors invite the readers to see the structural conditions behind the creation of the organization. First, the authors present a detailed analysis of the social thought influencing the business model by discussing how the teachings of the Catholic Church and Jesuits ethics/beliefs played a critical role in shaping the Fundación’s mission. The authors also emphasize how the social principles of the Catholic Church—particularly the obligation to uplift “the poor” intellectually, materially, and morally so they become economically productive workers—inspired a business vision in which a commitment for the “common good” had to be at the very center of any profitable enterprise. Such influence has shaped the organization until now, even if Jesuit representation was withdrawn from the entrepreneurial group in 2002. The authors then move to explain how the politicization and radicalization of everyday life in Colombia during the 1960s and 1970s provoked internal conflicts between those who argued for a more traditional role for the Catholic Church in society and those who sought to “modernize” religion as a central part of Colombia secularization. Despite such conflict, the authors argue, the Fundación maintained a careful balance between profit-oriented enterprises and a social commitment to contribute to the common good.

The authors present the history of the Fundación in the last twenty-five years as a unique case of business development in Colombia. The Fundación has represented neither the state, nor civil society, nor the market, but rather all three entities simultaneously. The authors thus theorize the consolidation of this organization as a result of a “sustainable development” through which civil society, the state, and private capital have historically come together to create a harmonious institution at the service of the “common good.” It is worth noting that in this theorization, the state, the market, and the civil society appear as autonomous entities in relation to one another. The authors pay little attention to the role of political, social, or economic power in determining how each sphere is constituted and relates to the others.

The authors then describe the major changes of the 1980s and the 1990s that culminated in the consolidation of neoliberal policies. By analyzing major historical documents produced by the Fundación...