Current Concerns

13 July 2018 No 15/16 ISSN 1664-7963 Current Concerns PO Box CH-8044 Zurich Current Concerns Switzerland The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, Phone: +41 44 350 65 50 Fax: +41 44 350 65 51 and for the promotion and respect of public international law, human rights and humanitarian law E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.currentconcerns.ch English Edition of Zeit-Fragen The Raiffeisenbanks in Switzerland and the principle of cooperation Dr phil René Roca* For more than 20 years I have, with con- is based in St Gallen. If one studies Raif- viction, been a member of one of the 255 feisen Switzerland’s statutes, the special legally autonomous and cooperatively or- article stating the purpose of the associa- ganised Raiffeisenbanks. However, lately, tion (Article 3) is also remakable: “Raif- like many other members of the coopera- feisen Switzerland aims to propagate and tive, I have been alarmed by certain de- reinforce the cooperative ideas of Frie- velopments in this cooperative bank. The drich Wilhelm Raiffeisen in Switzerland Vincenz case, which I will not go into any [...]” Again, “mutual self-help” is men- further, is only symptomatic of these. tioned, and the “cooperative ideas of Frie- drich Wilhelm Raiffeisen” are even to be If you visit the website of my bank, the propagated and reinforced. Raiffeisenbank Rohrdorferberg-Fislis- th bach, you come across a comic strip, well- Cooperative roots in the 19 century made in terms of PR and in a prominent At this point it is needful to take a short position, which advertises membership of trip into history. As a mayor in his Ger- the bank and concludes with the following man hometown, Friedrich Wilhelm Raif- motto: “Become co-owner of a bank, and feisen (1818-1888), whose 200 th birthday determine how things are going to be.” we are celebrating this year, saw the hard- The motto confirms an important guide- ships and worries of the farmers and trad- line of the cooperative principle. If I want ers of his time. Loans were only to be to become a member of a Raiffeisenbank, had with high interest rates and borrow- Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen I buy a share and so become co-owner ers were soon caught in a debt trap. From (1818–1888) (picture www.raiffeisen.ch) of the bank. At the annual general meet- what he saw, Raiffeisen drew the practi- ing, I have exactly one vote, regardless of cal conclusion that the needy could only the late Middle Ages. That is why the whether I have one or more share certifi- engage in the fight against usury and for idea of Raiffeisen fell on fertile ground cates – according to the principle of “one fair credit in a joint alliance, true to the especially in our country. In 1899, Fa- person, one vote”. But the cooperative motto: “All for one and one for all”. The ther Johann Traber (1854-1930) found- idea involves much more. soon-to-be-founded “Aid Organisation” ed the first Raiffeisenbank in Bichelsee. was “mutual self-help” in action, and the Since then, Bichelsee has been referred to Mutual self-help as purpose? foundation stone for the first Raiffeisen- as the “Raiffeisen Rütli of Switzerland”. If I look at the important article stating the bank. Raiffeisen assigned the task to serve Father Traber writes about the first Raif- purpose of my Raiffeisenbank in its arti- as garantors for debts to richer fellow cit- feisenbank: “So the institution is really cles of association, I come across the fol- izens. For example, farmers borrowed democratic and at the same time genuine- lowing sentence (Art. 2): “The bank con- money to buy cows. They had to pay back ly Christian; it is not money that governs ducts the following banking transactions the loan within five years. Their wealthy here, but the moral value of the individual in mutual self-help in the sense of the co- fellow citizens were liable for potential person.” The cooperative banks supported operative ideas of Friedrich Wilhelm Raif- losses in solidarity and with their pri- industrialisation in Switzerland sustaina- feisen [...].” What does this article of pur- vate assets. There was no dividend. Later, bly and underpinned by democracy. pose mean? What does “mutual self-help” the borrowers became members, too, as Apart from that, the cooperative prin- mean? What exactly do the “cooperative they formed savings in good times, which ciple and thus the demand for self-deter- ideas of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen” could in turn be mortgaged. This form of mination were an essential tradition in include? Article 5 of the articles of asso- capacity-building is a socio-ethical prin- the 19th century, to first of all develop and ciation further states that the bank is “a ciple that belongs to the cooperative idea then continuously expand direct democra- member of Raiffeisen Switzerland” and and has its roots in Christian charity, as cy with the referendum and initiative first recognises its statutes. Raiffeisen Swit- Raiffeisen repeatedly emphasised. at the communal and cantonal level and fi- zerland is itself organised as a coopera- The cooperative idea can be explained nally also in the Swiss Confederation. tive. My bank, the Raiffeisenbank Rohr- as resting on three terms combined with dorferberg-Fislisbach, is thus as it were a the word “self”: In addition to self-help Considerations for securing and member of Raiffeisen Switzerland, which these are self-responsibility and self-de- strengthening the cooperative principle termination. The will to self-determina- So what does this cooperative idea mean today? How can Raiffeisen’s ideas be * René Roca has a doctorate in history and is a tion has a long tradition in the Swiss Con- grammar school teacher. He heads the Research federation. Cooperatives in various forms Institute for Direct Democracy (www.fidd.ch). have been attested in Switzerland since continued on page 2 No 15/16 13 July 2018 Current Concerns Page 2 Summit of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin km. In recent days it has become known sidered with sometimes sharp polemics. Europe for US interests. The interests of that representatives of the US and Rus- And not only in the “New York Times” many European people remained second- sian governments are preparing a summit and the “Washington Post” in the USA. In ary, even among European governments. meeting of the presidents of both coun- Germany, almost all supra-regional main- Donald Trump has another variant. He de- tries, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. stream media have adapted to the specifica- fines “America first” not only in the mean- The US National Security Advisor John tions of the two US newspapers. Read the ing, that the US should focus on preserv- Bolton was in Moscow therefore. The comments of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine ing its national interests. In other states, meeting is scheduled for 16 July and shall Zeitung”, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, he does not see servant vassals any more, take place in the Finnish capital Helsinki the “Welt”, Spiegel online and also on but rather “competitors”. Considering its – a historical place (CSCE) for an under- Deutschlandfunk and tagesschau.de. Inter- meaning for the states of Europe, there standing between East and West. esting is the thrust direction. “Frankfurter are different signals. “Deals” are usually Since the election of Donald Trump, Allgemeine Zeitung” of 29 June 2018 e.g. something that should benefit both parties. US tried to prevent a summit like that. Al- writes that “a good relationship between But there are also strong signs that point in legations against the US president (“Rus- America and Russia is in the best interests a different direction. siagate”) served this purpose among othes. of Europeans,” and adds that “the glob- If the US President really should be Donald Trump’s hand should be tied, the al rivalry between Washington and Mos- able to improve the US-Russian rela- success of a meeting with the Russian cow was held first of all on our continent”. tionship and avert the danger of a major president should be prevented at the out- At the same time, however, it is said in the war, this is to be welcome. Concerning set. For Donald Trump had repeatedly same sentence that both had only applied the summit White House speaker Lind- stated in the election campaign that he “earlier.” Today all this applied no longer say Walters said, the US president hoped was interested in trying to improve the ex- because Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir tremely tense relations between the two are “practicing nationalists” who “take lit- Putin to relax the situation and engage in countries. This concern met with massive tle care” on European interests. constructive cooperation. Literally she resistance in the US and European Politi- What do you think of such phrasing, said: “Mr President attaches great impor- cians who had committed to the previous considering that after the Second World tance to this conversation in order to find governments and the candidate Hillary War all US governments did a great deal out whether Russia is interested in devel- Clinton. to keep Europe in a vassal status? “Amer- oping relations with the USA.” Would It is interesting that also the current at- ica first” was also in the decades before the European States not do better to think tempt of the US-American and the Rus- Donald Trump, but meant something else: of their interests too and also to improve sian president, to talk to each other is con- the integration and instrumentalization of their relationship with Russia? • Current Concerns ”The Raiffeisenbanks in Switzerland …” complex and above all undemocratic.

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