Editing Cooperative (section)

== Origins and history ==
{{Main|History of the cooperative movement|Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers|Rochdale Principles|History of the cooperative movement in China}}
{{See also|Benefit society|Burial society|Collegium (ancient Rome)|Cooperative banking|Credit union|Fraternal order|Friendly society|Guild|History of insurance|Labour law#History|Mutual organization|Mutual savings bank|Savings and loan association|Trade union}}

Cooperation dates back as far as human beings have been organizing for mutual benefits. Tribes were organized as cooperative structures, allocating jobs and resources among each other, only trading with the external communities.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} In alpine environments, trade could only be maintained in organized cooperatives to achieve a useful condition of artificial roads such as [[Viamala]] in 1472.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hohenraetien.ch/HR-Web-2008/web-content/HR-08-Materialien/Viamala_Brief_vollstText.pdf |title=1473 letter of intent to build a road, in (old) german |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706234019/http://www.hohenraetien.ch/HR-Web-2008/web-content/HR-08-Materialien/Viamala_Brief_vollstText.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> Pre-industrial Europe is home to the first cooperatives from an industrial context.<ref>{{cite web|last=Europe|first=CICOPA|title=About Us|url=http://www.cecop.coop/What-is-CECOP|access-date=14 August 2013|archive-date=10 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910145832/http://cecop.coop/What-is-CECOP|url-status=live}}</ref> The roots of the cooperative movement can be traced to multiple influences and extend worldwide. In the [[English-speaking world]], post-[[feudal]] forms of cooperation between workers and owners that are expressed today as "[[profit sharing]]" and "surplus sharing" arrangements existed as far back as 1795.<ref>Gates, J. (1998) ''The Ownership Solution'', London: Penguin.</ref> The key ideological influence on the Anglosphere branch of the cooperative movement, however, was a ''rejection'' of the charity principles that underpinned welfare reforms when the [[British government]] radically revised its [[Poor Laws]] in 1834. As both state and church institutions began to routinely distinguish between the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor, a movement of friendly societies grew throughout the [[British Empire]] based on the principle of mutuality, committed to self-help in the welfare of working people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-01-19 |title=English Poor Laws |url=https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/poor-laws/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Social Welfare History Project |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Portrait of Robert Owen (1771 - 1858) by John Cranch, 1845.jpg|thumb|right|[[Robert Owen]] (1771–1858) was a social reformer and a pioneer of the cooperative movement.]]
In 1761, the [[Fenwick Weavers' Society]] was formed in [[Fenwick, East Ayrshire]], [[Scotland]] to sell [[discounts and allowances|discounted]] [[oatmeal]] to local workers.<ref>Carrell, Severin. [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/aug/07/retail.uknews Strike Rochdale from the record books. The Co-op began in Scotland.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909094929/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/aug/07/retail.uknews |date=9 September 2017 }}, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 7 August 2007.</ref> Its services expanded to include assistance with savings and loans, emigration and education. In 1810, [[Welsh people|Welsh]] [[social reform]]er [[Robert Owen]], from Newtown in mid-[[Wales]], and his partners purchased the [[New Lanark]] mill from Owen's father-in-law, [[David Dale]], and proceeded to introduce better labour standards, including discounted retail shops where profits were passed on to his employees. Owen left New Lanark to pursue other forms of cooperative organization and develop coop ideas through writing and lecture. Cooperative communities were set up in [[Glasgow]], [[Indiana]] and [[Hampshire]], although ultimately unsuccessful. In 1828, [[William King (doctor)|William King]] set up a newspaper, ''The Cooperator'', to promote Owen's thinking, having already set up a cooperative store in Brighton.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/drwilliamkingcoo00king/drwilliamkingcoo00king_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Dr. William King and the Co-operator, 1828–1830"|work=archive.org|year=1922}}</ref><ref>"Dr. William King and the Co-operator, 1828–1830, T. W. MERCER, OL6459685M</ref>

Also in 1810, [[Henry Duncan (minister)|Rev. Henry Duncan]] of the [[Ruthwell]] [[Presbyterian polity|Presbyterian Church]] in Dumfriesshire, [[Scotland]] founded a [[friendly society]] to create a [[Cooperative banking|cooperative]] [[Mutual savings bank|depository institution]] at which his poorest parishioners could hold [[savings account]]s accruing interest for [[Social insurance|sickness and old-age]], which was the first established [[savings bank]] that would be merged into the [[Trustee Savings Bank]] between 1970 and 1985.<ref name="lloyds">{{cite web |url=http://www.lloydstsb.com/about_ltsb/tsb.asp |title=Lloyds Bank – Banking With Us – Our History, Heritage & Who We Are |publisher=Lloydstsb.com |access-date=2013-10-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011084801/http://www.lloydstsb.com/about_ltsb/tsb.asp |archive-date=2012-10-11 }}</ref><ref name="GFS">{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst120.html|title=Rev. Dr. Henry Duncan|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland|access-date=3 July 2014|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907231334/http://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst120.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Rochdale Pioneers|Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers]], founded in 1844, is usually considered the first successful cooperative enterprise, used as a model for modern coops, following the '[[Rochdale Principles]]'. A group of 28 weavers and other artisans in [[Rochdale]], England set up the society to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford. Within ten years there were over a thousand cooperative societies in the United Kingdom.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

[[File:Statue in Rača, Bratislava of Samuel Jurkovič, founder of the first cooperative in Central Europe, Spolok Gazdovský.jpg|thumb|The statue of Samuel Jurkovič, national awakener and founder of first cooperative in Central Europe (Spolok Gazdovský) in Rača, Bratislava]]
"Spolok Gazdovský" (''The Association of Administrators'' or ''The Association of Farmers'') founded in 1845 by Samuel Jurkovič, was the first cooperative in Europe ([[Credit union]]). The cooperative provided a cheap loan from funds generated by regular savings for members of the cooperative. Members of cooperative had to commit to a moral life and had to plant two trees in a public place every year. Despite the short duration of its existence, until 1851, it thus formed the basis of the cooperative movement in Slovakia.<ref>PERNÝ, Lukáš. Samuel Jurkovič, slovenský národný buditeľ a zakladateľ družstevníctva. In: DAV DVA (2019), https://davdva.sk/samuel-jurkovic-slovensky-narodny-buditel-a-zakladatel-druzstevnictva/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529161930/https://davdva.sk/samuel-jurkovic-slovensky-narodny-buditel-a-zakladatel-druzstevnictva/ |date=29 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>TASR: Gazdovský spolok v Sobotišti bol prvým úverovým družstvom . In: SME (2010), https://myzahorie.sme.sk/c/5228907/gazdovsky-spolok-v-sobotisti-bol-prvym-uverovym-druzstvom-v-europe.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118180547/https://myzahorie.sme.sk/c/5228907/gazdovsky-spolok-v-sobotisti-bol-prvym-uverovym-druzstvom-v-europe.html |date=18 January 2021 }}</ref> Slovak national thinker [[Ľudovít Štúr]] said about the association: "''We would very much like such excellent constitutions to be established throughout our region. They would help to rescue people from evil and misery. A beautiful, great idea, a beautiful excellent constitution!''"<ref>Ľudovít Štúr: Hospodársky ústav v Sobotišti, Orol tatranski 3. 2. 1846, č. 20</ref>

Other events such as the founding of a [[friendly society]] by the [[Tolpuddle Martyrs]] in 1832 were key occasions in the creation of organized labor and consumer movements.<ref>Marlow, Joyce, The Tolpuddle Martyrs, London :History Book Club, (1971) & Grafton Books, (1985) {{ISBN|0-586-03832-9}}</ref>

Friendly Societies established forums through which [[one member, one vote]] was practiced in organisation decision-making. The principles challenged the idea that a person should be an owner of [[property]] before being granted a political voice. Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century (and then repeatedly every twenty years or so) there was a surge in the number of cooperative organisations, both in commercial practice and civil society, operating to advance democracy and [[universal suffrage]] as a political principle.<ref>Rothschild, J., Allen-Whitt, J. (1986) ''The Cooperative Workplace'', Cambridge University Press</ref> Friendly Societies and consumer cooperatives became the dominant form of organization among working people in Anglosphere [[industrial societies]] prior to the rise of trade unions and industrial factories. Weinbren reports that by the end of the 19th century, over 80% of British working age men and 90% of Australian working age men were members of one or more Friendly Society.<ref name="Weinbren">[http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lab/88/weinbren.html Weinbren, D. & James, B. (2005) "Getting a Grip: the Roles of Friendly Societies in Australia and Britain Reappraised", Labour History, Vol. 88] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905113021/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lab/88/weinbren.html |date=5 September 2008 }}.</ref>

From the mid-nineteenth century, [[mutual organisation]]s embraced these ideas in economic enterprises, firstly among tradespeople, and later in cooperative stores, educational institutes, financial institutions and industrial enterprises. The common thread (enacted in different ways, and subject to the constraints of various systems of national law) is the principle that an enterprise or association should be owned and controlled by the people it serves, and share any surpluses on the basis of each member's cooperative contribution (as a producer, labourer or consumer) rather than their capacity to invest financial capital.<ref>[http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=9F0FA205C77BB6EEBEA9AB506E11BEE8?contentType=Article&contentId=1740497 Ridley-Duff, R. J. (2008) "Social Enterprise as a Socially Rational Business"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429081615/http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=9F0FA205C77BB6EEBEA9AB506E11BEE8?contentType=Article&contentId=1740497 |date=29 April 2009 }}, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 14(5): 291–312.</ref>

The [[International Co-operative Alliance]] was the first international association formed (1895) by the cooperative movement.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} It includes the [[World Council of Credit Unions]]. The International Cooperative Alliance was founded in London, England on 19 August 1895 during the 1st Cooperative Congress.<ref name="ica.coop">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/history-cooperative-movement|title=History of the cooperative movement {{!}} ICA|website=www.ica.coop|access-date=2019-12-16|archive-date=14 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314162839/https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/history-cooperative-movement|url-status=live}}</ref> In attendance were delegates from cooperatives from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, India, Italy, Switzerland, Serbia, and the US.<ref name="ica.coop" /> A second organization formed later in Germany: the International [[Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen|Raiffeisen]] Union. In the United States, the [[National Cooperative Business Association]] (NCBA CLUSA; the abbreviation of the organization retains the initials of its former name, Cooperative League of the USA) serves as the [[Economic sector|sector]]'s oldest national membership association. It is dedicated to ensuring that cooperative businesses have the same opportunities as other businesses operating in the country and that consumers have access to cooperatives in the marketplace.

In 1945 [[Artturi Ilmari Virtanen]] received the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for his invention of the [[AIV fodder|AIV silage]]. This invention improved milk production and created a method of preserving butter, the AIV salt, which led to increased Finnish butter exports. He had started his career in chemistry in [[Valio]], a cooperative of dairy farmers in which he headed the research department for 50 years and where all his major inventions were first put to practice.

Cooperative banks were first to adopt online banking. [[Stanford Federal Credit Union]] was the first [[financial institution]] to offer online internet banking services to all of its members in October 1994.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Stanford Federal Credit Union Pioneers Online Financial Services.|date=21 June 1995|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Stanford+Federal+Credit+Union+Pioneers+Online+Financial+Services.-a017104850|access-date=20 December 2018|archive-date=21 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041632/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Stanford+Federal+Credit+Union+Pioneers+Online+Financial+Services.-a017104850|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996 [[OP Financial Group]], also a [[cooperative bank]], became the second online bank in the world and the first in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.op.fi/op-financial-group/about-us/op-financial-group-in-brief/history|title=History – About us – OP Group|website=www.op.fi|access-date=20 December 2018|archive-date=21 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041413/https://www.op.fi/op-financial-group/about-us/op-financial-group-in-brief/history|url-status=live}}</ref>

By 2004 a new association focused on worker co-ops was founded, the [[United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives]].

The cooperative movement has been fueled globally by ideas of [[economic democracy]]. Economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that suggests an expansion of decision-making power from a small minority of corporate shareholders to a larger majority of public stakeholders. There are many different approaches to thinking about and building economic democracy. Anarchists are committed to [[libertarian socialism]] and have focused on local organization, including locally managed cooperatives, linked through confederations of unions, cooperatives and communities. Marxists, who as socialists have likewise held and worked for the goal of democratizing productive and reproductive relationships, often placed a greater strategic emphasis on confronting the larger scales of human organization. As they viewed the capitalist class to be politically, militarily and culturally mobilized for the purpose of maintaining an exploitable working class, they fought in the early 20th century to appropriate from the capitalist class the society's collective political capacity in the form of [[Sovereign state|the state]]. Though they regard the state as an unnecessarily oppressive institution, Marxists considered appropriating national and international-scale capitalist institutions and resources (such as the state) to be an important first pillar in creating conditions favorable to solidaristic economies.<ref>Rothschild, J., Allen-Whitt, J. (1986) ''The cooperative workplace'', Cambridge University Press, Chapter 1.</ref><ref>Cliff, T., Cluckstein, D. (1988) ''The Labour Party: A Marxist History'', London: Bookmarks.</ref> With the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|declining influence of the USSR]] after the 1960s, socialist strategies pluralized, though economic democratizers have not as yet established a fundamental challenge to the [[hegemony]] of global [[neoliberalism|neoliberal capitalism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wright|first=Chris|title=Worker Cooperatives and Revolution|publisher=Booklocker.com Inc.|year=2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Piñeiro Harnecker|first=Camila|title=Cooperatives and Socialism|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=D. Wolff|first=Richard|title=Democracy at Work|publisher=Haymarket Books|year=2012}}</ref>