A global history of co-operative business

Co-operatives provide a different approach to organising business through their ideals of member ownership and democratic practice.

Every co-operative member has an equal vote regardless of his or her own personal capital investment.

The contemporary significance of co-operatives was highlighted by the United Nations declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives.

This book provides an international perspective on the development of co-operatives since the mid-nineteenth century exploring the economic, political, and social factors that explain their varying fortunes and transformation into different forms.