Reinventing Cooperativism - (Studies in Critical Social Sciences) by René Mendoza Vidaurre (Hardcover)

About the Book

Based on more than 15 years of accompanying cooperatives in Central America, this book explains that many cooperatives of the XXI century have been coopted by neoliberalism and need to be reinvented to fulfil their potential of recreating their communities.

Book Synopsis

The market and the State have been presented as the solutions for social inequality, climate change and authoritarianism, but the results are contrary to those good intentions.

The first cooperatives emerged in urban England in opposition to industrial capitalism, in Germany in opposition to usury in the rural area, and in Canada in defense of their cultures and agriculture.

But over time, most cooperatives were co-opted and subsumed by colonial and patriarchal capitalism.

Based on experiences in Central America, this book shows how to reinvent cooperatives through which peasants and indigenous peoples can reduce social inequality, mitigate climate change and democratize our societies.

About the Author

René Mendoza VidaurrePh.D. (2012), Winds of Peace Foundation, is adviser of Central American rural organizations. He has published many articles on agricultural organizations, including La paradoja del café, el gran negocio mundial y la peor crisis campesina (2002).