Abstract
After the inception of the cooperative movement in the mid-19th century, it was widely held that capitalistic businesses would soon be replaced by a system of worker-controlled firms and a wealth of policy proposals called for a major impulse to cooperation in later years also. But cooperation has not met with the hoped-for success. How do we account for this? To our day, employee management specialists have been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the fact that the policy proposal to introduce democratic firm control still carries little consensus despite the collapse of the Soviet model of communism. In this paper, we give some answers to the question and emphasise the idea that progress in the direction of a generalised system of cooperative firms would amount to a considerable improvement over capitalism, but will hardly be made without the effective contribution of intellectuals and political parties.
Highlights
After the inception of the cooperative movement in the mid-19th century, it was widely held that capitalistic businesses would soon be replaced by a system of worker-controlled firms and a wealth of policy proposals called for a major impulse to cooperation in later years
It is a fact that the costs entailed in the exercise of democracy are an additional explanation for the limited success of the cooperative movement
In this paper we have emphasised the idea that progress in the direction of a generalised system of cooperative firms would amount to a considerable improvement over capitalism, but will hardly be made without the effective contribution of intellectuals and political parties
Summary
After the inception of the cooperative movement in the mid-19th century, it was widely held that capitalistic businesses would soon be replaced by a system of worker-controlled firms and a wealth of policy proposals called for a major impulse to cooperation in later years (see, for instance, Oakeshott, 1978 [1]; Cornforth et al, 1988 [2]; Ellerman, 1990 [3], Chap. 7; Bardhan & Roemer, 1993 [4]). (2015) A Few Reflections on the Reasons Why Cooperative Firms Have Failed to Gain a Firm Foothold. B. Jossa fact that the policy proposal to introduce democratic firm control still carries little consensus despite the collapse of the Soviet model of communism. It is difficult to understand why democratic firm management—the new mode of production which in our estimation is most likely to supplant capitalism today (see Jossa 2005 [5] and Jossa 2012 [6])—is still receiving little attention and why few scholars anticipate its final success. It is at the same time to fail to appreciate the social reform and to magnify the cooperative assurance.”. The question remains: why have cooperatives failed to become the new polar star for the Left?
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