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Associations in the social and medico-social sector increasingly find themselves plunged into a new context marked by increasing competition. This evolution is the result of a set of factors that have influenced the history of health and social action. It has accelerated with the conversion of the state apparatus to New Public Management, inspired by neoliberal ideology. While this introduction of competition is sometimes seen as a source of progress, it shows that the specificities of social and medico-social sector activities deviate in many respects from the conditions necessary for the existence of efficient markets. More generally, the unlimited extension of the market space raises strong reservations and can legitimately give cause for concern. The democratic definition of areas where it is better for the market to be kept out is a political issue. The social sector should be part of it.