Is Social Entrepreneurship a Double-Edged Sword?
The germ for this post comes from a tweet by @montero a few days ago describing social entrepreneurship as a double-edge sword; one edge entrepreneurship and the other the “social” element. I admit the idea made me chuckle at first—the most common use of the idiom being to refer to something risky, unsafe, something that “cuts both ways.” And I suppose social entrepreneurship has the potential to be just that. But, I thought, there must have been a reason someone centuries ago decided to sharpen both edges of his sword. It seems to me that at least two conditions must be met before a double-edged sword would be a relative advantage. 1. The blade has to match the style, skill and training of the person using it. Double-edged blades are used differently then single-edged ones. They require a different stance, different attacks and different defense maneuvers. This can be a distinct advantage, especially if one’s opponent (say, poverty, ignorance, or social injustice) is only accustomed t
