SOCIAL CONFLICT AND SOCIAL INNOVATION

摘要

While the spot light in recent years is focusing on the merits of social enterprises and their contributions to social innovation, this paper tries to look from a different angle on social innovation - on the relationship between social conflict and social innovation. From the perspective of social change, social conflict will inevitably bring about change even though forces of resistance to change may also exist at the same time. No matter such change is on the positive or negative side, and no matter how significant or immaterial it is, social change is manifested in the form of new social practices, norms, new values, or even new culture. Starting from an attempt on conceptualization of social innovation, this paper argues that social conflict can bring forth social innovation, provided that the former meets essential criteria and conditions. It urges for an enabling environment that will foster social conflicts into social innovations. It further argues that a cultural turn may be the keystone for such a change to occur.