Cooperatives: Present And Future Perspective (Paperback)

Cooperative is designated as the basis of coexistence of human being since its inception. But when we think about cooperative societies or cooperative movement, we mean the business organizations owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefits. A cooperative society, as ICA (International Cooperative Alliance) defines it, is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise".
The historical origin of formal cooperative philosophy is found in the writings and activities of Robert Owen, Louis Blanc, Charles Flourier and other western philosophers. Its early character was revolutionary but under the impact of such movements as Christian Socialism, this aspect diminished. After some early 19th century experiments, consumers' cooperation took permanent form with the establishment (1844) of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in England.
The Cooperative movement has since then had considerable growth throughout Great Britain and the Commonwealth, where local co-operatives have been federated into national wholesale and retail distributive enterprises and where a large proportion of the population got membership. Various examples of cooperative organization are also found in the Scandinavian countries, the People's Republic of China, Russia and France. In the United States the cooperative movement began in the 19th century, first among workers and then among farmers. The National Grange, a farmers' cooperative, was formed in 1867 and later exercised considerable political influence. An international alliance for the dissemination of cooperative information was established in 1895. Today the major types of co- operative include those of farmers, wholesalers, and consumers, as well as insurance, banking and credit and rural electrification cooperatives.