What are the Origins of Co-operatives?

There are two main ways to understand where co-operatives come from. The first is to concentrate on the formation of co-operatives, usually including their registration and incorporation through government regulation. Usually. This is dated back to the middle of the nineteenth century, when consumer co-operatives (notably the Rochdale Pioneers in the United Kingdom in 1844) were incorporated, followed by the incorporation of credit societies, agricultural co-operatives, fisheries co-operatives, and worker co-ops over the next few years in several European countries.

In addition to these main forms of co-operative organizational endeavour, people in many parts of the world developed a wide range of co-operatives to meet a great variety of economic and social needs; according to some estimates, over 300 different kinds meeting needs literally from birthing to burials.

But where do the organisations come from? In answering that question, one has to probe into the second kind of explanation for the emergence of formal co-operatives: the social and economic circumstances, the cultural roots and the social structures of the people involved in their formation and development. One has to understand their ideological commitments and why those chose the co-operative form of organisation over other forms. One needs to explore the nature of the network that made the development of a given co-operative or group of co-operatives possible: for example, community associations, family relationships, shared belief systems, and common economic activity. One needs to explore the ways in which co-operatives work together in fostering the development of new co-ops. One needs to situate co-ops within the major economic trends of the times, the political framework within which they develop, and the social context that contributes to their vitality. The roots of co-operative enterprise run deep.