Microfinance: from daily survival to social change

Is microfinance simply a short-term response to immediate problems or is it a possible engine of transformation in social relations and in the struggle against certain forms of oppression and discrimination? Through examples as varied as India, China, and Senegal, the texts presented here show that one cannot avoid a preliminary analysis of social dynamics and the way in which monetary and financial practices - including microfinance - take part in these social dynamics. If we admit that money and finance are social structures, the capacity of microfinance to democratize economic practices and to transcend hierarchical relations becomes more problematic. It supposes a global solution, where financial services must be supplemented by education as well as lobbying and advocacy.