Conclusion: Learning the Lessons

Abstract

There is a significant ideological campaign by imperialist forces such as the United States, the World Bank and the IMF to press cooperatives into the service of neoliberal ends. Building cooperatives and other collective ways of living and working can offer a step on the road beyond capitalism. Additionally, such collective methods should be established during capitalism, as opposed to waiting for a post-revolutionary situation. Our examples show that cooperatives can offer a lot to transformative politics. The ideological moorings of the cooperative movement significantly determine not only the individual impact that a collective institution will have on the lives of working-class people but also the broader potential to expand and have a positive influence on the working class as a whole.