Things Worth Fighting For: Facing Down the Demutualisers
Demutualisation has recently become so widespread as to call into question the survival of mutualism as a significant force for economic and social well-being and community renewal in the twenty-first century. The lifecycle of mutualist bodies falls into three stages. Firstly, a utopian stage, where the vision and commitment of the founders energise their followers and enable the mutual to be established; secondly, a stage where the mutual assumes a more formal and institutional character in order to more effectively go about achieving its objectives; and, finally, the system stage where bureaucracy takes over, and the survival and self-interest of the organisation assumes precedence over the interests of its members whatever functional purpose it was originally intended to serve. The challenge for mutuals is to ensure that the degeneration phase of the cycle does not occur. Protections include legislation and contractual agreements precluding personal enrichment on demutualisation.