1 Uninspired and liberal people around Revolution and the world are tempted to conclude, since neither unregulated neo-liberal capital Cooperatives: markets nor a fully planned state capi- talism are able to provide a humane Thoughts about economic and social system, the obvious solution must lay somewhere in between my time with the those two extremes. However, in order to see the obvious solution one has to economic com- leave the straight imaginative line that stretches in people´s heads all the way mittee in Rojava from the “free-market” economy on the one side till the fully planned real-so- cialist economy on the other side. In- stead, we simply need to remind In the following I will give a short in- ourselves that the sake of economy is to sight about my experiences during the “fulfill the needs of society”. And who time with the economic committee of knows best how to fulfill their own the cantons of Qamişlo and Hasakah in needs? The people themselves. There- Rojava, North-East Syria. I will espe- fore, the only reasonable way to build cially focus on the cooperative economy up an alternative economy seems to be that is being built up in Rojava. As a for the people to take back their means second step, I will discuss to what ex- of production. Which necessarily results tend cooperatives can be part of a revo- in the build-up of an economy based on lutionary strategy around the world. structures like cooperatives. To begin with, I invite you to think What is a cooperative? As the name about the primal purpose of all eco- suggests, a cooperative is about cooper- nomic activity. A definition used in ation. People cooperate instead of com- Wikipedia describes economy as “the in- peting against each other. The two most stitutions and actions that serve the distinguished hard-requirements of a systematic satisfaction of society´s cooperative are that the means of pro- needs”. It is evident that the capitalist duction are owned by the members of economy has been failing miserably to the cooperation and the decisions are meet the needs of society. It is clear debated and decided collectively and that the means of production in the democratically. On top of this, new hand of private capital result in poverty, forms of (re)production, relationships postcolonial structures and environmen- and community need to be developed at tal destruction that puts our very exis- the same time since cooperatives should tence in danger. Even though the never be limited to address only eco- centralized real-socialist economies may nomic forms of oppression. have achieved to establish a society with less material inequality, their attempts to outrace the capitalist mode of pro- duction were not able to overcome the unhealthy human-nature relationship of capitalist modernity. It showed that a state-capitalist production contradicts an economy according to society´s needs, as well. 2 stresses the importance of building up Democratic Con- alternatives in the here and now, as a passage of the Manifesto of the Youth federalism and describes: “Today, however, the buildup Cooperatives precedes the resistance. Wherever there is the opportunity, buildup is realized Here, in North-East Syria, widely immediately. If there is an attack, it will known as Rojava, the new paradigm of be defended.” the Kurdish Freedom Movement, Demo- cratic Confederalism, proposed by Ab- The economic committee of North and dullah Öcalan, is being built up. East Syria releases regulations of the cooperatives which depict the basic ide- ological principles concerning the imple- mentation of the cooperative economy as well as concrete rules that are sup- posed to prevent the cooperative princi- ples to fade away and suggest how a democratic organization involving dif- ferent committees within the coopera- tives as well as assemblies on a regular basis can be put into practice: According to these regulations, the role of the cooperatives are closely linked to the true meaning of economics discussed If society wants to continue its existence, it has to restore the above: “The fulfillment of the basic communal economy as its foundation. needs of the society and the harmony with the environment are taken as a ba- sis in all the activities of the coopera- In accordance to this alternative to the tives.” predominant capitalist modernity, the Rojava revolution has gained worldwide Furthermore, “Cooperatives, in their attention by emphasizing womens’ lib- daily life and work need to fight against eration, grassroots democracy and social sexism in an effective way. A division of ecology as the main pillars of the revo- labor, which removes the burdens im- lution. Another principle of democratic posed on women and promotes women's modernity is a communal economy will is the aim. Cooperatives pave the based on ecological industry and coop- way for women to become more actively eratives. For this reason, the Autono- involved in social and economic life. In mous Administration of North and East cooperative work, women's law is taken Syria does not only support any project as the basis in matters relating to to build up a cooperative with financial women.” and material means, but also actively visits different neighborhoods, villages The goal of the cooperatives is “to build and families every day in order to dis- a spirit of social responsibility for the cuss about the principles of a communal development of a moral and political economy and about how a local coop- society, making themselves the founda- erative could be established in this par- tions.” as well as “The production of the ticular place. The paradigm of basic necessities of society according to Democratic Confederalism especially the conditions of the war economy”. 3 The general assembly of any cooperative ing into practice. In many other regions is meeting at least every 3 month. In of the world, including the Middle East, the assembly other responsibilities, like however, this image of humanity does the administration, finance and archive not resemble the mindset and reality of committee as well as the monitoring the people. Here in North-East Syria for committee, which monitors if the princi- instance, nobody can tell me how many ples of the cooperative are being ad- individual people life in their village or hered to, are elected. are part of the cooperative. The unit that is being used is almost always the The income of a cooperation are distrib- family. Therefore, it makes more sense uted as follows: 5% go to the union of to speak of the family as economic and cooperatives, 25% will go to the funds societal subject (as opposed to object!). of this cooperative that can be used to expand and develop further cooperative The majority of cooperatives in Rojava activities and the remaining 70% will be are agricultural cooperatives planting open for the assembly to decide, typi- crops, vegetables and fruits. However, cally it will be distributed among the there are also cooperatives involved in members. The exact numbers, just like livestock (sheep, cow, chicken) and vari- most of these guidelines, are not fixed in ous low intensive production and ser- a dogmatic way and may be adjusted vices like bakeries, restaurants, (cloth) after discussions according to different shops, tailoring, hairdressing, sewing, situations. What can not be changed salt production and electricity. For pro- however, is the rule that maximal 5% duction-cooperatives outside of the should go to the regional structure (co- agricultural sector that involve more operative union): It may be less, but complex and technology-intensive pro- not more, in order to guarantee auton- cesses, the two limiting factors are at omy. times the lack of know-how about the concrete production process, but even more importantly, the unavailability of the necessary equipment and machinery. This is a direct result of the inner-state Cooperatives in colonialist economic policies against this region from the regime in the past as Practice well as of the embargo today. As a con- crete example, in recent months there Mainstream economic theory of capital- were some women who wanted to start ist modernity, the hidden ideological a cooperative for the production of justification for oppressive and imperial- socks but have not found a way to or- ist policies of nation states around the ganize the necessary tools yet. Gener- world, views the (egoistic) individual as ally, the cooperatives are directly the main economic object. Even diverse connected to the commune of the neigh- groups are being simplified as acting in borhood or the village or even to several the interest of one rational individual. communes. This assures that their ac- This is no surprise considering that this tivity is in the interest of the local pop- theory is predominantly made up by ulation. Western, white males. Within their soci- eties, they have indeed succeeded to a During my time with the economic large extend to put their conception of committee in Hasakeh, I was able to be the human being as “naturally” acting part of the initial process of establishing individualistically and utility-maximiz- a new cooperative from scratch. As a 4 first step, we visited one family in a of Mardin in Northern Kurdistan. Even small village in between the ancient set- though we were all tired, our mood was tlement of Tell Beydar and the border- pleased with the prospect of a new co- town Dirbêsiyê. While enjoying the operative about to enrich the Rojava obligatory tea, we asked the family plains. about their assessment for the prospects of building up a cooperative with the whole village - would the other villagers On a different day we attended a meet- agree? On this day, to get a first over- ing of a cooperative that is composed of view and set off the discussion, we only 51 families from 8 different villages.