Cooperatives Confront Capitalism

Cooperatives the world over are successfully developing alternative models of decision-making, employment and operation without the existence of managers, executives and hierarchies. Through case studies spanning the US, Latin America and Europe, including valuable new work on the previously neglected cooperative movement in Cuba, Peter Ranis explores how cooperatives have evolved in response to the economic crisis. Going further yet, Ranis makes the novel argument that the constitutionally enshrined principle of 'eminent domain' can in fact be harnessed to create and defend worker cooperatives. Combining the work of key radical theorists, including Marx, Gramsci and Luxemburg, with that of contemporary political economists, such as Block, Piketty and Stiglitz, Cooperatives Confront Capitalism provides what is perhaps the most far-reaching analysis yet of the ideas, achievements and wider historical context of the cooperative movement.

This book revolves around the idea that capitalism is not a democratic system and that a system of producer cooperatives, or democratically managed enterprises, gives rise to a new mode of production which is authentically socialist in essence and fully consistent with the ultimate rationale underlying Marx’s theoretical approach. The author argues that the cooperative firm system outlined in this book offers a rich array of non-economic benefits that justify its classification as a ‘genuinely socialist’ entity, with real potential for achieving true economic democracy.

What would an alternative to contemporary capitalism look like? In this book, Geert Reuten sets out a detailed design of a democratic society organised in worker cooperatives, followed by an equally detailed democratic transition to it, thereby making a convincing case. In Reuten’s design, Workers constitute the single economic class. However, unlike in capitalism, there is no class that owns the means of production. The legal structure of worker cooperatives is such that workers have full rights to the fruits of the cooperative without owning it, and yet the state does not own the cooperatives either. Interestingly, worker councils in the economic and state domains vote on all economically relevant matters. In Reuten’s work, the free choice of occupation and of specific consumer goods is even larger than in capitalism.

This volume explores an expansive array of organizational imaginaries, or conceptions of organizational possibilities, with a focus on collectivist-democratic organizations, to showcase how organizations can ultimately support and serve broader communities.

Transcending Capitalism Through Cooperative Practices identifies and analyzes sustainable alternatives to capitalism by examining five diverse enterprises, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Green Bay Packers football team, and the Lusty Lady sex club.

Capitalism is failing and ordinary people are forced to pay the price. With such deep-rooted problems there is real hunger for alternative ways of organizing our economic system. Answering the question, "Is there a co-operative alternative to capitalism?" this book showcases fourteen responses from economists, academics, co-operators, politicians, and campaigners, exploring both the success and untapped potential of co-operatives. Each essay approaches from a new direction—from the flourishing open source movement to cases of co-operative success in different parts of the world. Rob Harrison has written and commented widely on social change issues for more than twenty years.

The current co-op movement in the U.S. seeks to be a structural alternative to capitalism; this book seriously questions whether the current movement can accomplish that task. Carl Ratner offers a rich and unique political analysis and critique that provides helpful insights into the practice and problems of the contemporary cooperative movement. Noting that co-operators tend to view their work as apolitical because the explicit influence of national political parties is absent, the author constructs a compelling argument that co-operators nonetheless operate unwittingly with implicit political conceptions of freedom, opportunity, human rights, social participation, decision-making, power, and governance that are shaped and limited by the capitalist economic system. Ratner demonstrates how a more radical, anti-capitalist, socialist form of cooperation and co-ops are needed to realise the fulfilling potential of cooperation and co-ops. For those wishing to understand and advance the cooperative movement, this book is essential reading.

'Cooperatives stem from interchanges in day-to-day life; and have the capacity to extend their reach to cover economic exchanges across time and space. They offer a complementary form of relationships to the ones economists typically study and favour. A culmination of years of research, this book quite magnificently explains and persuasively advocates a much neglected institution.' Sir Partha Dasgupta, University of Cambridge, UK This eloquent book analyses the theory of the cooperative form of enterprise from an historic perspective, whilst assessing its appeal in the current economic environment. The authors show that cooperatives are enterprises acting in harmony in the market economy, and explore the following questions: How do cooperatives achieve solidarity in keeping together elements normally considered in conflict? Why is the cooperative enterprise not as widespread as the capitalist enterprise? What is its appeal in the present conditions of crisis of the world economy? Alongside other related issues, the volume also discusses the theoretical foundations of the cooperative enterprise and offers an overview of the historical development of the cooperative movement around the world. Special reference is made to the Italian case, which is scarcely known within the international milieu. Broad in scope whilst concise in elucidation, this book will be invaluable to students enrolled in economic, social, historical and political curricula, as well as leaders of the cooperative movement. People interested in finding a practical alternative to the capitalist form of enterprise will also find this book enriching.