International Co Operative Bulletin

The book examines the history of co-operation in the broad context of the history of consumerism and consumption; of internationalism and the development of international organisations; and debates about international trade during the inter-war period. The fundamental question explored in the book concerns the meaning of co-operation. Was it a social movement or an economic enterprise? Did it aspire to challenge capitalism or to reform it? Did it contain at its heart a political vision for the transformation of society or was it simply a practical guide for organising a business? Hilson argues that it was both, but that an examination of the debates over the different meanings of co-operation can also illuminate broader questions about the emergence of consumer interests in the first half of the twentieth century, especially in a transnational context.

Vol. 1, Apr. 1919/ Aug. 1920 (published 1923) is a collection of documents relating to the history and activities of the International Labor Organization from its initiation in the Commission on International Labour Legislation appointed by the Peace Conference in January 1919 to the second session of the Conference, held at Genoa in June-July 1920. Pref. note, v.1.