Cooperation in Practice: Successes and Shortcomings of the International Cooperative Movement Today

Abstract

This chapter reports on empirical observations by the author and by other researchers, of several major co-ops in the U.S. and Europe: the Catalan Cooperative Confederation, the Ansaloni housing co-op, an Italian construction co-op, Mondragon, LEGA co-ops in Italy, Venezuelan co-ops, and the Northcoast co-op in California. The point is to observe how successful the market-oriented, apolitical co-ops are in practicing cooperation. These observations serve as a test of the author’s critique of this cooperative social philosophy in the previous chapter.

End Notes

1. In contrast, the Newsletter happily does publish other letters and comments such as these from June, 2012: “I love this store, but today I was craving for Carmela’s salsa and now I need to go to another store because the co-op doesn’t them. Kind of disappointing.” Or “Could we have a day with sounds of an aviary on the loud speakers instead of rock music.” Evidently, this level of cooperative discourse is more important to print than requests to publish members’ election results. These comments were published in a section of the Newsletter that was marked with the inscription “We Love Our Members.” Co-op love for its members takes the form of publishing personal opinions that do nothing to inform members about the co-op or cooperation, while hiding election results from members.

Another letter/comment complained: “I’m wondering if something can be done to move fashion magazines with scantily clad women, etc. out of direct view. I don’t like my five year old daughter seeing them.” To which the assistant manager replied, “I understand your concern. Although we cannot ensure that certain titles are completely out of view, we will make a conscious effort to keep fashion magazines and titles with questionable covers in upper magazine slots.” In this case, the management is planning to move magazines around on the opinion of one customer. No cooperative decision-making process was invoked to involve more members or to ascertain whether anyone else objected, or whether the objection is reasonable and acceptable, or advances the co-op’s seven principles. The management assumed that covers with scantily clad women are questionable—without any justification or definition. Why are such covers questionable when it is not questionable for women to be “scantily clad” in tank tops and shorts in the co-op, or for women to wear bikinis on public beaches? Does the complainant keep her daughter from public beaches and swimming pools so she cannot see scantily clad women? Does she complain to state or city recreation agencies that they should ban tank tops, shorts, and bikinis on the beaches and pools so that her daughter will not see them? Should these agencies accede to her opinion? What does scantily clad mean? One-piece swim suit? Shorts? Bikinis? Tank tops? Bare midriff? Tight jeans? What is wrong with children seeing “scantily clad” women, or even naked women or naked men? Nudists (and many Scandanavians) do it and there is no sign that it precipitates psychosis in their children.

How would the complainant feel if some extreme Islamic devotee wrote that she felt shocked to see the magazine complainant in the co-op with her hair uncovered, and that the co-op should require the complainant—and all women—to cover her hair in black veils? If the magazine complainant expects the co-op to honor her complaint, then the co-op should logically honor the Muslim’s complaint, and every other opinion that anyone expresses. The magazine complaint about scantily covered bodies has no more justification and clarity than the Muslim complaint about uncovered hair. The magazine complainant should accede to the Muslim complaint and agree to cover her hair, if she wants anyone to agree with her complaint about removing magazines. If the co-op does not honor everyone’s opinion, then it is biased to honor the magazine complaint.

Even worse than all of this is the fact that the magazine complaint and response distract from an important cooperative issue regarding magazine and book displays: There is not (nor has there even been) one single magazine or book devoted to cooperative issues in the entire North coast co-op’s two supermarket stores. The books and magazines are all devoted to topics such as fashion, eating, cooking, yoga, surfing, pottery, and fiction. Yet, the customer is unconcerned with this important issue—which violates the co-op principle of cooperative education. And the management is unconcerned with its own principle as well. Instead of complaining that the co-op has fashion magazines instead of co-op magazines, the customer focuses her complaint upon the amount of clothing that fashion magazines display on their covers. Adding more clothing to the cover models would satisfy her; without adding any cooperative content to reading material, which is the co-op’s official mission. For her, and the assistant manager as well, It is fine if the co-op violates its own foundational principle of educating about cooperation, as long as magazine models are “properly” attired—whatever that means to this single customer and to the assistant manager who appeases her.

2. The local credit union likewise provides no education to its members concerning its principles and practices. Its web page simply mentions the board of directors is composed of members. It does not explain that all members are eligible to run for the board, when elections are, how long terms are, what the election procedure is, who to contact for information about the board and election procedures, or when the board meets so that members can attend and participate. Conducting business inside the credit union is indistinguishable from conducting business in any bank.