Cooperatives Confront Capitalism : Challenging the Neoliberal Economy

Business co-operatives can offer successful alternative models of decision making, employment, and operation without the existence of managerial and hierarchical structures. Through case studies spanning the United States, Europe, and Latin America—including the first in-depth look at the Cuban co-operative movement, Peter Ranis explores how co-operatives have evolved in response to the recent economic crisis and how the success of co-operatives is spurring the reinvention of labor unions today. Placing the work of key radical theorists including Marx, Gramsci, and Luxembourg alongside that of contemporary political economists such as Block, Piketty, and Stiglitz, Cooperatives Confront Capitalism provides a unique theoretical synthesis and offers a far-reaching analysis of the ideas, achievements, and wider historical context of the cooperative movement. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in how co-operatives and democratic worker organizations can create a lasting solution to unemployment and poverty.