Political Science

The path to long-term economic development and prosperity can be achieved through governmental as well as private sector involvement  free market solutions. However, in most cases the former should not be allowed to significantly overshadow the latter, as was witnessed in the 20th century with the collapse of the Soviet Union and most other centrally-planned, Communist regimes--the notable exception being China. Group- and individual-oriented cultures often lead to different styles of organizational management and economic systems that can still achieve the same objective of national prosperity. Two solid examples to support these statements above can be found in Japan and the USA. Japanese culture is fundamentally a group-oriented entity, while American culture is distinctly individualistic in nature. Experience tends to indicate the former cultural variation is more susceptible to requiring government control than is the latter to succeed, as in the case of South Korea.

However, after emerging from the rubble of the Second World War, group-oriented Japan turned itself into the worlds second largest economy after the USA within 35 years, thus effectively competing with a much larger nation in terms of population and geographical size. This was achieved mainly via a well-balanced marriage of government-industry cooperation that is not generally practiced or appreciated in the individually-oriented USA

Another notable example can be found in the Peoples Republic of China, established in 1949. Chinas government today is a very workable blend of socialism and capitalism that in 2009 turned the country into the worlds second largest economy after the USA in terms of purchasing power parity. It is expected China will become the worlds largest economy around the year 2025, a fact that will provide the emerging superpower with significant economic and political clout worldwide (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010).

The biggest lesson to be learned from the above examples is that truly understanding the contemporary advantages and disadvantages of cultural variations and then using this knowledge effectively plays a critical role in the sustainable, economic development of any particular country. In the case of the USA, engaging the individualistic (and entrepreneurial) nature of Americans often renders very positive results on both economic and social levels. The issue at hand is which one of these is the primary goal

Social Enterprise
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that American corporations remain the most competitive in the world today, followed by those in Hong Kong and Singapore (IMD Business School, 2010). Despite outsourcing to nations such as India and the 2008 global economic disruption, US firms are still the most efficient in the world. Therefore, as the economic performance of American organizations is not in dispute, the issue turns to that of social enterprise and responsibility. While social enterprise is not a precise concept, the term is generally used to indicate firms that operate in the open while focusing on social issues, such as the American ice cream shop, Ben  Jerrysa small-business entity that has franchises worldwide.

Social entrepreneurs in America tend to have a challenge regarding financial sustainability. Although these business owners may have admirable directions, their institutions have trouble producing attractive, bottom-line results that can allow them to pursue their stated social agendas. There are two options in consideration today to alleviate this challenge (Schorr, 2006)

New social business models
Subsidies via ongoing funding sources
Research indicates preference of the former over the latter as the most pertinent course of action to take, as proposed by social entrepreneur, Jim Schorr, of Juma Enterprises in San Francisco, Californiaone of the leading nonprofit social enterprises in the United States (Schorr, 2006).

The author agrees with Schorr because subsidies of any type seem to have a tendency to falter long-term, and contemporary globalism demands more creative thinking than ever before (Nye, 2003). Therefore, developing new models to align with the business, economic, and social realities of today is paramount to success, regardless of the type of enterprise. Developing new social business models that can generate enough revenue to exceed direct and incremental costs is the goal, and the author believes this can be achieved with the assistance of world-class research universities such as Harvard (USA), Oxford (UK), or the University of Oslo (Norway). Organizations such as the Council of Americas Small Business Owners, also known as SCORE which is headquartered in Washington, DC, USA, provide other viable options.

Conclusion
Social enterprises have a unique position in todays economies. Disadvantaged youth and others who live in poverty around the world might not have the opportunities of others, but social enterprises can greatly assist in helping these peoples transcend their situations if the individuals concerned are willing to help themselves. National governments can assist as well, such as the US State Departments Agency for International Development. However, as the discussion above shows, such governmental help is best done in cooperation with social enterprises to develop new business models for sustainable growth.

Therefore, national governments around the worldespecially in the economically advanced countriesshould encourage social entrepreneurship to raise the standard of living of the worlds millions of poor people struggling to survive in highly miserable conditions. To fail in this task is certain to invite global discourse among the six billion people living on this planet one which is already suffering from climate change sped up by the output of its human inhabitants.