While a co-op like Fertile Ground is a profit-making business, it operates on a dramatically different model than the type of capitalism pursued by Pope. Co-ops are democratically owned and controlled by their members, whereas corporations are owned by shareholders or, in the case of businesses like Variety Wholesalers, by private owners who exercise complete control over the companys operations and profits. Cooperatives also typically offer education and training to help stakeholders contribute effectively to the groups development. The Land OLakes dairy company, Sunkist citrus growers, and True Value hardware are well-known businesses that are cooperatives. Despite the red-baiting of the corporationists, worker-owned businesses - based as they are on a democratic model of leadership - strike us as a very American idea. And as those well-known cooperatives listed above demonstrate, quite capable of being a sustainable market alternative.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 20:51:24 +0000