As cooperatives are formed to serve the interest of their members, history is also rich in identifying how cooperatives had been successful in achieving their goals. Cooperatives were a product of the utilitarian movement that sprang during the mid-1700s with the problem in economics on how self-interested individuals could meet together to have their interests served though they are self-interested in the first place. This coincided with the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain during the mid-1700s which was a social and economic transformation from agricultural to industrial economy where machines became an integral part of production in large quantities but transforming work relationships from individualized roles in the farm to a structured relationship in factories.

Not only was the economy transformed but also their social relationships. But while industrialization gave wealth to Great Britain, and to industry owners, it also resulted in poverty among many households as the displaced workers on land went to cities where industries where in order to find work in factories. But they ended up living in slums where wages were low but were forced to work without limits.

This was the time in England when various philosophies were emerging to answer this problem. On the part of economics, Adam Smith, the leading economic philosopher of this time argued for free-market to answer the problem on how self-interested individuals could agree on a common interest (Cutis 1981:107). Smith attacked the government imposed restriction imposed by the King of his time on the prices of the produce and on the regulations on business. He said that prices and volume of goods, to whom you would sell those goods should be a product of the mutual consent of both sellers and buyers and not by government imposition especially by the King. He said, “government leave us alone,” to do our business.

Laissez faire or freedom to trade or do business was pushed to its boundaries. But the freedom granted to businessmen also led to social and economic displacements among the poor since they were exploited with low wages, poor living and working conditions and work without limits. Since the adherents of free-market system advocates private ownership of the means of production, there was another idea where public ownership of land and other means of production would alleviate the condition of the workers. This was the project of Robert Owen with which cooperatives began to take shape.

Robert Owen was a philosopher and social reformer. His talent as industry leader was recognized in his young age of 19 when he became superintendent of a cotton mill in Manchester, England which produced quality fabric with the improvement of the cotton spun and the use of quality fiber imported from American Sea Island Cotton. Later on, he was able to convince his partners to purchase the New Lanark Mills in Lankarshire, Scotland. As they re-located in this new investment location, they were greeted with 2,000 inhabitants of Lanark, 500 of whom were children from poorhouses and charities of Edinburg and Glasgow.

Here, Owen was introduced to the depressing condition of the inhabitants though they were treated well by their former employers. But their living conditions and education were neglected. As the factory went in operation, Owen opened up a store to make available quality goods at affordable cost. This led the people to improve their living conditions and influenced them to the habit of order, cleanliness and thrift. He also opened up a school for children which he personally supervised (Dowd 2024).

In 1817, Owen pushed his ideas to its limits when he proposed the idea of communal living in an area of about 1,200 acres afforded to 1,000 families who will be self-sufficient in a community living in large structures like divided apartments among the households with common mess halls. This communal life where residents will commonly own the property was the beginning of socialism and the idea of cooperative. In 1825, he purchased 30,000 acres of land in Indiana, USA from a religious community and named it New Harmony, where they were afforded machinery to till their apportioned land. Life in New Harmony was content and orderly under Owen’s supervision. But disagreements erupted as to what type of government they will create and the role of religion in their lives. Owen did not give much importance to religion in his philosophy since he suspected that all religions had flaws. But this community that he re-settled came from religious communities (Dowd 2024).

On the other hand, Rochdale, Manchester was home to flannel weavers who were known at first with production from their looms. These weavers were eventually subjected to the factory system when capitalists hired them in their textile companies put up in Rochdale as well. But as in any industrial centers in Great Britain, poverty persisted. Rochdale weavers and workers suffered from deplorable working conditions, lack of social security, poor living conditions, abuse from employers and industry owners who provide high prices of goods but of shoddy quality.

In 1844, a strike was mounted by these poor weavers to demand better quality of life and limits to working hours. But the strike did not meet its objective. In the same year, 28 men in Rochdale formed an organization as a solution to improve their lives. These 28 men were poor compared to their employers. Moreover, bonding together in the spirit of cooperation was nothing new to them for they were Owenites. They believed that the social environment with the right social influence would build a person’s desirable future. But these 28 Rochdale Owenites were not planning to relocate to build a commune, rather, they would find solutions to their problems right there at Rochdale. Cooperating and founding an organization was nothing new to them as well for they were members of the Rochdale Friendly Co-operative Society created in 1830 (Fairbairn 1994:2-4). But unlike Owen’s strategy of him investing his fortune in the creation of a community or the capitalists’ modus of pooling their money to put up a venture which the capitalists would own, the 28 men pooled their money of the same amount and put up a store to sell asic necessities of butter, sugar, oatmeal, flour and candles. The 28 Rochdale pioneers owned and run the store as they equally pitched in the same amount of money to put it up. Upon their creation of the cooperative, the 28 men were guided by the following objective called “Law the First” that would set the direction of their cooperative (Fairbairn 1994:5); and eventually the entire global cooperative movement.

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AUTHOR PROFILE

Bro. Clifford T. Sorita