Living in the cracks between the business world and the state system is an amazing variety of organisations which, according to some economists, theoretically shouldn't exist. Their goal is not to make profit but to meet social and environmental needs which both the market and government either can't meet nearly as well or have totally ignored.

Based on dozens of interviews with people who have set up and run social organisations in Britain and the Czech Republic, it is shown how their struggle to carry their ideals forward has led to lives with more joy, fulfilment and satisfaction than is normally found in commercial life or the civil service.

In a world increasingly dominated by giant companies for whom communities mean nothing' organisations such as those described in the book are going to be needed everywhere.