Photos. The utilitarian original co-op store, including the former library/lecture room that is still used for meetings. Unfortunately, prospects for high returns created an inrush of stockholders who had less concern for the cooperative nature of the enterprise than for money. When the ventures fell on hard times, attempts to keep workers and wage levels up led to protests on the part of the shareholders, who were often unemployed themselves. This lopsided semi-cooperative situation led to an end to the worker bonus in 1862. Afterwards, the mills operated for the sole benefit of the shareholders. Other attempts to expand the cooperative principle got off to a slow and painful start, but turned out much more successful. In 1850, the Rochdale Pioneers began to operate their own corn mill, providing merchandise for the store. Boycotts by private wholesalers and others had often stymied the development of cooperatives, and underscored the need for a cooperative supply of wholesale goods. Abraham Greenwood was most active in advancing the cooperative wholesale idea, and became the main founder of the North of England Cooperative Wholesale Society. Today, the Cooperative Wholesale Society runs large industries and store chains in Great Britain. The Rochdale Pioneer's Society is still a part of it. The original store at Toad Lane has been converted into a museum. The Rochdale Pioneers understood that economics are intricately tied to ethical questions, and that democratic participation in economic decisions furthers a sense of belonging, meaning, and self-respect. Today, capitalist reform is often justified in the name of global competitiveness and worket efficiency, not because it would create a more humane society. General questions on economy and values don't arise in public discourse, except for scattered attacks on products and practices. Today's large-scale consumer co-ops in Europe often do whatever is necessary to fetch consumers. Concerns about the social, cultural, or political implications of a product are frequently pushed aside. Yet many smaller coops still do their best to overcome the separation of consumers from producers, ethical from economic decisions, and individual interest from social well-being. The postCold War struggles of many Eastern European countries, and local efforts to preserve functioning cooperatives, defy the prophets of market economics. The idea of cooperation is still held in higher esteem than either market capitalism or state socialism. For more info about the Rochdale Co-op Pioneers Museum, write to Cooperative Un.ion, Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester, England M60 OAS. Sources: George Holyoake, SelfHelp by the People: The History of the Rochdale Pioneers (I 893), G.D.H. Cole, ,A Century of Co-operation (1944), Paul Greer, Cooperatives: The British Achievement (1955). RAIN Summer 1996 Volume XV, Number 1 Page 35
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz