The Chris Moeller Archives

Great cooperatives in human history

Wikipedia describes the word cooperative as "the legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work." No wait, that's copyright. A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise." And co-ops have been very good for America and the world indeed.

They're fair, they're operationally efficient, and they're much more common than one might realize. We're not just talking about farm and agricultural organizations, credit unions, public utilities, and those neighborhood groceries specializing in organic foods, although there are clearly raging success stories connected with those areas of our economy. The New York Times reported earlier this year (in respect to research done at the University of Wisconsin) that there are nearly 30,000 co-ops in the U.S. that have annual revenues surpassing $650 billion. Well-known business entities that are not well-known as cooperatives include the Associated Press, Ace Hardware, Land O'Lakes (dairy), Best Western (lodging), Ocean Spray (cranberries), and Sun-Maid (raisins).

You don't hear very much about co-ops in the news, but this is mostly because very few have been asking the government for bailouts this year. In the currently depressed economy instigated by rampant greed on Wall Street, co-ops have proven to be quite flexile, whether they be financial, worker, or consumer in their orientation. A recent report by the International Labor Organization explains, “Cooperatives are uniquely member-owned, member-controlled and exist to provide benefits to members as opposed to profit, and this has an impact on business decisions. When the purposes of the business are aligned with those of members who are both investors and consumers of the cooperative, the results are loyalty, commitment, shared knowledge, member participation, underpinned by strong economic incentives.”

Co-ops have their roots in agrarian Great Britain in the 18th century, and their American roots in agriculture among progressive farmers. For Midwesterners, that makes them as much about our past as they should be about our future. Co-ops led to the construction of the first grain elevators (the first being raised in Farnhamville, Iowa in 1881) and greater price control for farmers over grain and livestock. Non-profit health care cooperatives may also ultimately provide the solution to our health care crisis. We'd clearly be a damn sight better off with co-ops than with the corporate, profit-driven insurance and pharmaceutical companies we're saddled with today.

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Ken Burns' latest documentary film series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," begins on PBS September 27th. With this six-part series, Burns presents the too-seldom-told American story of the establishment of the parks and of the ongoing preservation and restoration of some of nature's most breathtakingly beautiful locations. Included in the narrative is the story of how the then-head of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigned vigorously for the establishment of Yellowstone as the first official national park of the United States, an action that culminated with legislation passed in Congress on October 1, 1890. The preceding summer and fall, Roosevelt had been shouted down at various town hall meetings across the country with derisive taunts such as "Commie Go Home," "No Marxism for America's Forests," and "Stop the Bullwinkle Death Panels."

posted by CM @ 2:02 PM