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A Time of Crises Consumer Co-Operatives and Their Problems Around 1990

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A Time of Crises Consumer Co-Operatives and Their Problems Around 1990 A TIME OF CRISES CONSUMER CO-OPERATIVES AND THEIR PROBLEMS AROUND 1990 Edited by JOHANN BRAZDA and ROBERT SCHEDIWY 4 5 CONTENTS Volumne 1 Page Editors’ Notes 11 Introduction 13 Johann Brazda and Robert Schediwy Great Britain 45 Franz Müller Germany 139 Johann Brazda Sweden 229 Robert Schediwy Netherlands 341 Johannes Reintjes Switzerland 375 Johanna Setzer Volumne 2 Finland 573 Robert Schediwy France 671 Robert Schediwy Italy 817 Johanna Setzer Austria 900 Robert Blaich Japan 1023 Günter Vacek VOLUMNE 1 8 9 EDITORS’ NOTE: Approximately 25 years ago the editors applied in the year 1985 for a grant by the Anniversary Fund of the Austrian Na- tional Bank in order to finance a research project: “Structural changes in Consumer Co-operatives – An International Compari- son”. Based on comparative studies of selected industrial countries with a strong cooperative tradition, the research project should analyse changes in the political, social and economic frame condi- tions of consumer cooperatives. The reason and background to this endeavour were the visible problems of Austria’s “Konsum Österreich”. These problems were similar to the ones that had hit the consumer co-operative move- ments of the Netherlands and of Belgium some years before, and in France even more dramatic events had hit the sector. In Scan- dinavia, too, the 1970s and 1980s had been unkind to the respec- tive co-operative movements. We wanted to look at the structural similarities and the underlying reasons of these crises in order to develop possible strategies for survival and renewed success. Our proposal found the approval of the bank’s scientific com- mittee, and our research team set out to work with enthusiasm even though the amount of money apportioned to us was rather moderate – less than 30,000 Euros in today’s Euro currency, in total. Our japanologist e.g. would have been able to pay himself just one flight to Tokyo and back to Vienna for his share of the money – thank God he had to fly there anyway. Our comparative study, published by an open-minded Interna- tional Co-operative Alliance in 1989 has – unfortunately – be- come something of a legend. We would have preferred a different outcome. Indeed our main (non-scientific) intent behind the study was to awaken the mem- bers and the management of “Konsum Österreich” to the danger their organisation was in. We wanted to blow the whistle of alarm – in vain. 10 11 Introduction The German version of our ten country study met with almost CONSUMER CO–OPERATIVES ON THE complete silence – and the part about Austria was actually DEFENSIVE bought up by the management of “Konsum Austria” in 1988. A SHORT OVERVIEW They thought our cry of alarm was simply “bad publicity”. Seven years later “Konsum Österreich” had to declare insol- vency, and our respective country study (authored by Robert Consumer co-operatives can be regarded as a strategy for disfa- Blaich: “Der rote Riese wankt”, Vienna 1995) was published as a voured members of society - occasionally encouraged by private or negative prophecy come true. institutional benefactors - to pool their strength in order to liberate themselves from material, social and political dependence by collec- A quarter of a century has passed since we have started our tive action.(1) The integrative power of this strategy is evident by the study. We have decided that the (few) scholars still interested in fact that it was able to bring together members of different social the subject should have electronic access to its content. classes as well as of different creeds - as the working together of the It may be outdated but, alas, not all of its messages are obso- christian and atheist founders of the Rochdale pioneers bears lete. So we spoke the first time about a life cycle concept for the witness of. Together with the impulse of resistance to the pauperi- Federative Systems of Cooperatives. sation of the working class in the industrial revolution a structure was created that became extremely important for today’s co-opera- tive movement all over the world. Johann Brazda and Robert Schediwy In this context our study was to look at the processes of consumer Vienna, in September, 2011 co-operative development on various levels:(2) a) The mechanisms whereby certain economic dependencies were overcome were to be analyzed as well as the new dependencies that became part of co-operative success itself. b) The role of the initial enthusiasm of the co-operative members for the task of building co–operatives was to be taken account of as well as the loss in dynamism, the hierarchisation and organiza- tional sclerosis, that often became part of co–operative develop- ment in more recent years. c) The role of member participation was to be looked at in all its positive and also some of its less positive aspects. 1.1. FROM BENEVOLENCE TO INSTITUTIONS OF THE WORKING CLASS On the European continent most consumer co-operatives before 1885 were founded “from above” i.e. under the patronage of persons 12 13 Johann Brazda/Robert Schediwy Introduction coming from the existing social elite (big landowners, factory The ideology of consumer co-operatives spread in Europe by the owners etc.). According to the dogma of laissez-faire liberalism enormously influential book by Holyoake (5) on the Rochdale pio- (whose deficiencies were clear to the more farsighted members of neers in the 1860‘s was one mostly taken up by lower middle classes this elite) co–operatives were meant to mitigate the problems of the and an economic elite of industrial workers and favoured by enligh- industrial revolution and to act as a kind of mild “countervailing tened benefactors. According to G. Mazzini e.g. there was no power” - thereby stabilizing the system as a whole. Consumer co– antagonism between labour and capital and between the social operatives were regarded as a means to reduce the cost of living for classes. He saw the cooperatives as an instrument to change society workers, small businessmen or state officials. This was an idea that in a non revolutionary manner. They were to be a motor of Italian their employers as well were able to favour in a view of enlightened national unification in a spirit of cooperation. self-interest, since it would tend to reduce the upward pressure on The radical wing of the workers’ movements then in their forma- wages if the wage-earners were able to buy more goods for the same tive years at first opposed these concepts strictly. Especially the amount of money. A favourable factor in this context was the relative marxists showed great distrust with regard to consumer co-operati- backwardness of a distribution system characterized by a multitude ves.(6) The Italian socialist leader F. Turati wrote in 1896 that of small outlets, enormous markups and strong indebtedness on the consumer cooperatives would become part of the existing order of consumer as well as on the small shopowner level. This created a society without solving any problem or liberating anybody. Coopera- certain economic pressure to make commerce more efficient as had tives would be reduced to an instrument of propaganda.(7) happened to production by the advent of machinery and the dra- matic fall in costs accompanying it. The big founding-wave of consumer co-operatives on the Euro- pean continent, however, was already closely tied up with the Among the leading “benefactors” propagating co-operatives on organized workers’ movement. During the last decade of the 19th the European continent we can name de Boyve and Auguste Fabre in century and the first decade of the present century every major France as well as Eduard Pfeiffer and Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch in country of Europe witnessed the birth of thousands of new consumer Germany, the leading Swedish cooperators von Kraemer and von co-operatives. Partially it was a true grass-roots movement, which Koch, tax collector Kupper in Holland, Guiseppe Mazzini in Italy, the practically forced the political leaders of the working class to accept philanthropist Heinrich Zschokke in Switzerland.(3) In Great Brit- the idea of consumer co-operation as part of the workers’ movement. ain Robert Owen played a similar role some generations before, even Partially the example of the heavily politicized Belgian co-opera- though his ideas and practical attempts were more far-reaching tives, above all the “Vooruit” (“Forward”) of Gent convinced the than those of other co-operative pioneers. In Japan the social political strategists that co-operatives could have organizational as reformer Kagawa Toyohiko played a similar but even more success- well as financial advantages for the party and the unions too. A co- ful role around the middle of this century. operative building could house other institutions of the labour From the commentary to Austria’s law on co–operatives dating movement as well, blacklisted unionists could find employment in from 1873 - the heyday of Austria’s short-lived liberalism - we can the co-operative sector and co-operatives could help the families of judge how even a parliament elected by less than 5 per cent of a members on strike ...(8) The Italian socialist C. Trevos saw coopera- population and consisting mainly of representatives of the weal- tives actually as an instrument to finance the party and as valuable thiest classes could see co-operatives with a favourable eye: This law tools in cases of long and difficult union battles.(9) was meant to “mitigate the social question” (i.e. the mass poverty These concepts, however, were not necessarily apt to increase the brought about by the industrial revolution) “without questioning the economic stability of newly-founded co-operatives, usually hampe- property of the possessing classes” at the same time “extracting the red by a lack of capital, lack of expertise in management and poorer classes from the erroneous teachings of communism”.(4) 14 15 Johann Brazda/Robert Schediwy Introduction accounting as well as by the immediate desire of the members to earn 1.2.
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