Contemporary labor market increased society's social gap between those inserted in the labor market and those surviving in a precarious way. Social economy emerged in opposition to this social fracture. Using the biographical approach, we discuss work's trajectories of 30 young workers divided in two groups. The first group is formed by 15 workers employed in the new economy sector (telecommunications, Internet and software) and 5 workers employed in reengineered banks. The second group is composed by 5 workers involved in social economy projects and 5 workers involved in a communitarian association. The analysis of the first group's workers' interviews point to the creation/foundation of a highly individualistic ethics and behavior. The workers belonging to the second group seem to explain their experience just as an alternative to unemployment. Due to this conclusion, the question that emerges is if these projects are able to constitute a real opposition to the contemporary management discourse.
productive reengineering; subjectivity; biographical approach; new economy; social economy
