A Global History of Co-operative Business

Co-operatives provide a different approach to organizing business through their ideals of member ownership and democratic practice. Every co-operative member has an equal vote regardless of his or her own personal capital investment. The contemporary significance of co-operatives was highlighted by the United Nations declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives.

This book provides an international perspective on the development of co-operatives since the mid-nineteenth century, exploring the economic, political, and social factors that explain their varying fortunes and transformation into different forms. By looking at what co-operatives are; how they have changed; the developments as well as the persecutions of the co-operative movement; and how it is an important force in promoting development and self-sufficiency in non-industrialized areas, this book provides valuable insight not only to academics, but also to practitioners and policy makers.

1. What are Co-operatives? 2. The Origins of the Idea and the Rochdale Pioneers: Before 1844 3. The Early Years and the Rise of Co-operative Wholesaling: 1844-1864 4. Diversification, Internationalization and the Formation of the International Co-operative Alliance: 1864-1914 5. The Challenges of War, Depression and Totalitarianism: 1914-1945 6. Post-War Prosperity, The Cold War and Decolonialization: 1945-1975 7. Contrasts. Neo-Liberalism and the UN International Year of Co-operatives: 1975 to the Present 8. Conclusion

Greg Patmore is Emeritus Professor of Business and Labour History and the Chair of the Co-operatives Research Group at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is a member of the International Co-operative Alliance (Geneva) Global 300 Project.

Nikola Balnave is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing and Management and a member of the Centre for Workforce Futures at Macquarie University, Australia. Nikki has been the President of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History since 2009. She has also been an executive member of the Academic Association of Historians in Australian and New Zealand Business Schools in many capacities since its inception in 2009.