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 develop- ments 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 prac- titioners and policy makers. 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. Taylor & Francis Q Taylor & Francis Group � http://taylorandfrancis.com A GLOBAL HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE BUSINESS Greg Patmore and Nikola Balnave First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business 2018 Greg Patmore and Nikola Balnave The right of Greg Patmore and Nikola Balnave to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Patmore, Greg, author. | Balnave, Nikola, author. Title: A global history of co-operative business / Greg Patmore and Nikola Balnave. Description: First Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017054323| ISBN 9781138191488 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138191495 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315638164 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Consumer cooperatives—History. | Business enterprises—History. Classification: LCC HD3271 .P38 2018 | DDC 334.09—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017054323 ISBN: 978-1-138-19148-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-19149-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-63816-4 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo Std by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK CONTENTS List of illustrations vi Acknowledgements vii List of abbreviations viii 1 What are co-operatives? 1 2 The origins of the idea and the Rochdale pioneers, before 1844 26 3 The early years of Rochdale, the rise of co-operative wholesaling, and financial co-operatives, 1844–1864 47 4 Diversification, internationalization, and the formation of the International Co-operative Alliance, 1864–1914 70 5 The challenges of war, depression, and totalitarianism, 1914–1945 114 6 Postwar prosperity, the Cold War, and decolonialization, 1945–1975 155 7 Contrasts: neo-liberalism and the UN International Year of Co-operatives from 1975 to the present 187 8 Conclusion 222 Index 228 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 4.1 Holyoake House in Manchester, named in honor of co-operative pioneer, G.J. Holyoake (1817–1906), was the headquarters of the CU, opened in 1911 75 6.1 Products and publications of the Berkeley Co-operative 170 7.1 Barossa Co-operative Supermarket, South Australia 208 7.2 Alfalfa House Community Food Co-op, Sydney 209 Tables 3.1 The Rochdale pioneers’ store, 1844–1864 49 4.1 The growth of retail consumers’ co-operation in Britain, 1873–1914 73 4.2 The CWS, 1864–1914 76 4.3 The SCWS, 1868–1914 80 4.4 Consumer co-operation in Europe, 1914 90 6.1 Members of ICA-affiliated organizations, 1946–1975 179 7.1 Credit unions in the former Soviet Bloc, 2015 193 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to acknowledge the support of many people and institutions that made the completion of this book possible. We would like to thank Ed Mayo, Melina Morrison, Charles (Chuck) Gould, and Dolly Goh for agreeing to participate in interviews, and the staff of the Department of Labor Library in Washington DC and National Co-operative Archive in Manchester, particularly Sophie Stewart, for their assistance with documentary research. We thank Wendy Paterson for proofreading the draft chapters and constructing the reference lists for each chap- ter and Samantha Phua, from Routledge, for her support and encouragement. The research was funded by a variety of sources, including the University of Sydney School of Business and the Department of Marketing and Management at Macquarie University. The book also includes early findings from a Discovery Grant from the Australian Research Council (DP170100573). We would also like to thank Derick, Maureen, Michael, and Helen for their continuing support and encouragement. ABBREVIATIONS AAC Australian Association of Co-operatives AC Associated Co-operatives (US) AFL American Federation of Labor ASE Amalgamated Society of Engineers AUCE Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees (UK) AV Allgemeiner Verband der auf Selbsthilfe beruhenden deutschen Erwerbs- und Wirtschaftsgenossenschaften (Germany) CBH Co-operative Bulk Handling (Australia) CCF Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Canada) CFA Co-operative Federation of Australia CFNSW Co-operative Federation on NSW CFWA Co-operative Federation of Western Australia CIC Chinese Industrial Co-operatives CIFRC China International Famine Relief Commission CIS Co-operative Insurance Society (UK) CLUSA Co-operative League of the United States of America CO Cooperativa Obrera Limitada (Argentina) CPBS Co-operative Permanent Building Society (UK) CPF Co-operative Productive Federation (UK) CRS Co-operative Retail Service CU Co-operative Union (UK) CUC Co-operative Union of Canada CUCSJ Central Union of Co-operative Societies in Japan CUNA Credit Union National Association (US) CUSO Credit Union Service Organization (US) CUWS Co-operative Union and Wholesale Society (NZ) CWS Co-operative Wholesale Society (UK) Abbreviations ix DGPC Dakota Grain Pasta Company (US) EACB European Association of Co-operative Banks EC European Commission EHO El Hogar Obrero (Argentina) ESOP Employee Stock Ownership Plan Euricse European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Italy) FAO Food and Agriculture Organization (UN) FCL Federated Co-operatives Limited (Canada) FDB Fœllesforeningen for Danmarks Brugsforeninger (Denmark) FNCC Fédération nationale des coopératives de consummation (France) GCA Ghana Co-operative Alliance GDP Gross Domestic Product GFC Global Financial Crisis GHC Group Health Co-operative (Seattle, US) GNCTU Grand National Consolidated Trades Union (UK) IAOS Irish Agricultural Organisation Society IAPSA Industrial and Provident Societies Act ICA International Co-operative Alliance ICAA Irish Co-operative Aid Association ICTA International Co-operative Trading Agency ICWG International Co-operative Women’s Guild ICWS International Co-operative Wholesale Society IDATE Irish Department of Agriculture and Technical Education IFFCO Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative Limited ILO International Labour Organisation IOB Investor-owned Business IYC International Year of Co-operatives KF Kooperativa förbundet (Sweden) KNCU Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union (Tanzania) KNPA Kilimanjaro Native Planters’ Association (Tanzania) KOL Knights of Labor KVZ Konsumverien Zürich (Switzerland) LBFC Letaba Bantu Farmers’ Co-operative (South Africa) MLR Monthly Labor Review (US) MOB Member-owned Business NACF National Agricultural Co-operative Federation NAF Nordisk Andelsförbund (Scandinavian Co-operative Wholesaler) NCB National Co-operative Bank (US) NCBA National Co-operative Business Association (US) NCGA National Co-operative Grocers’ Association (US) NDA National Dairy Association of New Zealand NGC New Generation Co-operatives NLU National Labor Union (US) NORCO North Coast Co-operative Company (Australia) x Abbreviations NSW New South Wales (Australia) NSWCWS New South Wales Co-operative Wholesale Society (Australia) NTUC National Trade Union Congress NZ New Zealand NZCA New Zealand Co-operative Alliance NZCWS New Zealand Co-operative Wholesale Society NZFC New Zealand Federation of Co-operatives OFWCF Overseas Farmers’ Wholesale Co-operative Federation OTK Suomen Osuustukkukauppa (Finland)