Corporations Create the Problem, Co-Ops Offer the Solution
►http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/11618-corporations-create-the-problem-co-ops-offer-the-solution
Cooperatives offer a means by which to change the economic and social landscape and directly tackle issues of wealth inequality, outsourcing of jobs and high unemployment. Our current economic and political systems benefit the wealthy. Change will not come from the top down, but from building over and replacing these systems with organizations that directly advance, and are responsible to, the communities they are a part of. By bringing democracy to our communities - in our workplaces, grocery stores and beyond - we can transform society and the economy.
In honor of the 2012 International Year of Cooperatives, and ahead of October, which is Co-Op Month, here are just five reasons why co-ops rock (based on our “10 Reasons Co-Ops Rock” poster):
1. Cooperatives are democratic businesses and organizations, equally owned and controlled by a group of people. There are worker co-ops, consumer co-ops, producer co-ops, housing co-ops, financial co-ops and more. In a cooperative, one member has one vote.
The greatest thing about co-ops is, perhaps, simply what sets them apart from other businesses: They are democratic institutions, controlled equitably by the people who depend on them. There’s no one right way to do a co-op - they can fit different community and individual needs. Some co-ops, such as Red Rabbit Bakery, are owned and managed by the workers. Others, like the Brattleboro Food Cooperative, are controlled by their consumer members.
Contrast this with typical corporations, which are about earning profits for those at the top, often at the expense of the environment, their workers and consumers. Cooperatives aim to benefit the people who use and rely on them. Each member of a cooperative owns one share in the business, and therefore has one equal say over how it works. In addition, if the co-op is doing well, members - not some absentee stock owners - benefit.