Consumers' co-operative in the context of "Labour movement"

Play Trivia Questions online!

 or

Skip to study material about Consumers' co-operative in the context of "Labour movement"
Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Consumers' co-operative

A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit. Many co-operatives, however, do have a degree of profit orientation. Just like other corporations, some co-operatives issue dividends to owners based on a share of total net profit or earnings (all owners typically receive the same amount); or based on a percentage of the total amount of purchases made by the owner. Regardless of whether they issue a dividend or not, most consumers' co-operatives will offer owners discounts and preferential access to goods and services.

Consumers' co-operatives often take the form of retail outlets owned and operated by their consumers, such as food co-ops. However, there are many types of consumers' co-operatives, operating in areas such as health care, insurance, housing, utilities and personal finance (including credit unions).

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Consumers' co-operative in the context of Labour movement

The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considered an instance of class conflict.

The labour movement developed as a response to capitalism and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, at about the same time as socialism. The early goals of the movement were the right to unionise, the right to vote, democracy, safe working conditions and the 40-hour week. As these were achieved in many of the advanced economies of Western Europe and North America in the early decades of the 20th century, the labour movement expanded to issues of welfare and social insurance, wealth distribution and income distribution, public services like health care and education, social housing and in some cases common ownership.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Consumers' co-operative in the context of Mutual insurance

A mutual insurance company is an insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders. It is a form of consumers' co-operative. Any profits earned by a mutual insurance company are either retained within the company or rebated to policyholders in the form of dividend distributions or reduced future premiums. In contrast, a stock insurance company is owned by investors who have purchased company stock; any profits generated by a stock insurance company are distributed to the investors without necessarily benefiting the policyholders.

↑ Return to Menu

Consumers' co-operative in the context of Participatory economics

Participatory economics, often abbreviated parecon, is an economic system based on participatory decision making as the primary economic mechanism for allocation in society. In the system, the say in decision-making is proportional to the impact on a person or group of people. Participatory economics is a form of a socialist decentralized planned economy involving the collective ownership of the means of production. It is a proposed alternative to contemporary capitalism and centralized planning. This economic model is primarily associated with political theorist Michael Albert and economist Robin Hahnel, who describes participatory economics as an anarchist economic vision.

The underlying values that parecon seeks to implement are: equity, solidarity, diversity, workers' self-management, efficiency (defined as accomplishing goals without wasting valued assets), and sustainability. The institutions of parecon include workers' and consumers' councils utilising self-managerial methods for decision-making, balanced job complexes, remuneration based on individual effort, and wide decentralized planning. In parecon, self-management constitutes a replacement for the mainstream conception of economic freedom, which Albert and Hahnel argue by its very vagueness has allowed it to be abused by capitalist ideologues.

↑ Return to Menu

Consumers' co-operative in the context of Morning Star (UK newspaper)

The Morning Star is a left-wing British daily newspaper with a focus on social, political and trade union issues. Originally founded in 1930 as the Daily Worker by the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), ownership was transferred from the CPGB to an independent readers' co-operative, the People's Press Printing Society, in 1945 and later renamed the Morning Star in 1966. The paper describes its editorial stance as in line with Britain's Road to Socialism, the programme of the Communist Party of Britain.

The Daily Worker initially opposed the Second World War and its London edition was banned in Britain between 1941 and 1942. After the Soviet Union joined the Allies, the paper enthusiastically backed the war effort. During the Cold War, the paper provided a platform for critics of the US and its allies. This included whistleblowers who provided evidence that the British military were allowing their forces to collect severed heads during the Malayan Emergency, and exposing the mass graves of civilians killed by the South Korean government.

↑ Return to Menu
LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Labour movement ← Workers movement ← Mutual insurance ← Participatory economics ← Morning Star (UK newspaper) ← Labor movement ← Organized labor
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Raunds Co-operative Society → Business → Democracy → Market economy → Mutual aid → Food cooperative → Housing cooperative → Utility cooperative → Credit union →