subject: A Brief History Of The Co-operative Movement [print this page] Events of the last few years have prompted a great deal of soul-searching about what sort of society we all want to live in. Dissatisfaction with the current political system is mounting, while there also appears to be a great deal of concern about the business practices of recent decades, with great uncertainty as to how we proceed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. This has led many people to look back into history to see whether the methods of the past have any relevance to the modern world, and if so, how they can be adapted to suit the needs of the 21st century.
The co-operative movement, in particular, has received a great deal of attention from politicians and the public alike. The success of mutually-owned firms such as John Lewis has prompted many people to ask themselves whether the shareholder value maximisation model which occupied an unassailable position from the late 1970s onwards is really fit for purpose and can deliver social justice against a backdrop of deepening wealth inequality. Although the co-operative movement really began to gather a head of steam across northern England in the 19th century, the first documented consumer co-operative was founded in 1769 in East Ayrshire. By the 1830s, there were several hundred co-operatives across the UK, with the movement winning strong political support from radical Liberals and Chartists.
Welsh social reformer Robert Owen one of Britains most prominent early socialists is often considered to be the father of the co-operative movement, seeking to alleviate poverty and improve the condition of the British working class by employing them in a healthy environment in which they could lead productive lives and provide a good education for their children. Most famously, Owen put his ideas into practice in the community of New Lanark, in Scotland, which survives today as a major tourist attraction. A statue of Owen is a familiar sight to modern commuters arriving at Manchesters Victoria railway station, standing outside the Co-operative Groups headquarters nearby.
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers or just the Rochdale Pioneers for short also occupy an important place in the history of the co-operative movement. Comprised of ten weavers and 20 others from Rochdale, the society was formed in 1844 and aimed to make good food more affordable for working class people. The Pioneers learned from the mistakes of earlier co-operatives and based their own operation on the famous Rochdale Principles and developed a reputation for providing quality goods at affordable prices. The model founded the basis for modern mutualism, being the first to pay a patronage dividend.
