Forum Post: Do you know what a Cooperative (co-op) is?
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 17, 2011, 10:05 a.m. EST by Cooperativist
(29)
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What is a cooperative?
Read the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative
A cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit.[1] A cooperative is defined by the International Cooperative Alliance's Statement on the Cooperative Identity as "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".[2] A cooperative may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or by the people who work there.
The USA has very few Cooperatives. Many more Cooperatives are needed!
The Credit Unions should offer credit lines for new Cooperatives that are just starting their business.
The Cooperatives are the antitode to the individualistic ideology.
Post this to http://www.plainsite.org/ It's a good point you're making.
There are two kinds of Cooperatives: those owned by the people who work there, and those owned by the people who use the services of the Cooperative. Both kinds of Cooperatives are very important tools to fight the greedy big corporations and achieve more social justice.