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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Tales of Two Under-Cultures 7

August 5, 2014

“Co-operative culture eats co-operative governance for breakfast!”   

An article gleaned from England’s Co-operative News talks about how to generate and nurture a strong co-operative culture. It identifies six factors for sustaining a co-operative culture.

The article spun off of a series of conversations about big problems with co-operative governance at the vast Co-operative Group. The key statement was “co-operative culture eats co-operative governance for breakfast!” I have never heard a line that sums up in one short line pretty much everything I write about.

Wikipedia describes the Co-operative Group as

…a British consumer cooperative with a diverse range of retail businesses. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the UK, with 8 million members, who have a say in how the business is run and how its social goals are achieved. The group comprises a family of businesses, including: Food, Financial Services, Funeral care, Legal Services and Online Electricals. The organisation is widely called "The Co-op", particularly in the food division.

It has over 5,000 branches.

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