Non-Profit Organization and Proactive Behavior: A Critical Analysis of the Current Reality

Future-oriented organizations not only focus on the maximization of economic profit, they are also driven by a number of values, which have a direct impact on workers, society and the environment that surrounds them. This situation, together with the evidence of the negative effects of climate change, urges society to produce and consume differently, forming a new paradigm of possibilities. Although it is true that the market economy is not willing to relinquish its dominance so easily after years of having free rein to pursue growth at the expense of abuses and environmental damage, some timid changes are emerging and the beginnings of a silent social revolution can be observed. Ethical economic degrowth (Degrowth broadly means shrinking rather than growing economies, so we use less of the world’s energy and resources and put wellbeing ahead of profit. The idea is that by pursuing degrowth policies, economies can help themselves, their citizens and the planet by becoming more sustainable.) becomes a credible alternative; for example, the establishment of cooperative companies within the context of the social economy becomes a tool for true change. The purpose of this study is to analyze how non-profit organizations work and then to investigate whether they have sufficient capacity to establish themselves as a vehicle for eco-social development, as a counterweight to transnational companies, or rather whether they will end up being a merely marginal and voluntary element, the opposite of what they claim to be.