Cynics and pessimists

The fact that the question as to whether cooperatives can make a difference is being asked at all indicates a mind-set of those who think that cooperatives, particularly in developing countries, cannot make the difference considering their past performance. Their pessimism is heightened by the fact that the economies of these countries have been liberalized and that globalization will make the situation even worse for cooperatives. Examples of good work done by worker cooperatives in Spain, consumer cooperatives in Japan, agricultural cooperatives in Asia, credit unions in USA, dairy cooperatives in Denmark, cooperative banking in Germany etc do not convince them because of the absence of examples from developing countries.

From the examples cited above, it is very clear that good governance is a critical success factor for cooperatives to do well. It must be pointed out that cooperatives in most of the developing countries were a creation of the state rather than the autonomous, member-driven and self-help organizations they were meant to be. Even those that were autonomous were embraced by governments and literally given a kiss of death. It is a known fact that cooperatives were used, misused, abused, blamed and discredited by many governments of developing countries. For example, they were used to tax farmers. It is little wonder therefore that many genuine cooperatives became discouraged. Others chose to operate as informal groups rather than register as cooperatives.

It would of course be presumptuous to suggest that cooperatives in democratically governed countries cannot fail. Indeed, like any other business organisations, cooperatives, which cannot perform, must die. However, that notwithstanding, the question that should be asked is whether these cooperatives will wake up to make the expected difference. My conclusion is that they will. This optimism is apparently built on developments some of which seem to be real threats to the existence of cooperatives. These are the democratization processes, the liberalization of the economies, and globalization and the Internet.

COPAC Home | COPAC Members| COPAC Meetings | Publications and Information | International Day of Cooperatives | Cooperative Policy and Legislation | Cooperative Development Projects | Site Map | Search

Comments or questions? Contact the COPAC Coordinator.
Posted: 17 July 2000