Co-operative Identity

Peter Somerville

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the concept of co-operative identity. Co-operatives are claimed to have distinct values and institutional forms, different from private corporations, public bodies and ‘nonprofits’ or charities. Essentially, however, co-operatives are member-owned, democratically controlled enterprises. Over the years, it appears that they tend to lose their distinct identity (the so-called ‘degeneration thesis’). This paper looks at why this occurs and how the distinct identity of co-operatives can be sustained. It points to the growth, in recent years, of community organisations that do not call themselves co-operatives but nevertheless can be argued to exhibit a co-operative identity. It concludes by suggesting that the experience of these ‘community co-operatives’ may contain lessons for the co-operative movement.