Across the world more than one billion people are already members of cooperatives. Cooperatives produce and distribute millions of goods and services every day. It is described as the 'solidarity economy’.
The Socialist Party is familiar with the argument for setting up co-operatives within capitalism as a means of gradually replacing it with socialism. However, we do not think that this is a practical proposition. The major problems of today are world problems and can only be solved by the establishment of a world community, without frontiers, based on common ownership with production solely for use, not profit. Co-operatives might provide a pleasant way of working and living for a few, but they can never be a solution to the problems of wage-workers as a whole.
Cooperatives are not 'the kernel of the new society' in the shell of the old, as the old-timer industrial unionists would often describe their strategy. Cooperatives are actually 'the kernel of the old society within the shell of the old', yet another version of 'market exchange'. This is exposed by their 'wanting something better now' within capitalist relations). All we can offer at present is a view of the future because we're nowhere near making 'something better now', and we should concede that to supporters of cooperatives.
For us, world socialism is 'The Cooperative', not a continuation of market competition between a plurality of cooperatives, each concerned only with itself, but a singular world cooperative in which all social production is controlled democratically. That is a democratic commonwealth (not independent production by sections of workers).
Cooperatives wouldn't work as their managers would still have to apply the laws of the market and seek to make profits (if only to just to sustain themselves and survive). In a society where goods are produced to be sold with a view to profit, success can only be measured in terms of sales and profits.
If workers simply want better conditions within capitalism now, then we point them to cooperative ventures and to trade unions but openly say that we wish to build consciously for our future, a building which is critical of what exists (rather than pragmatically uses what exists).
We, in the Socialist Party, have different aims to cooperatives. To establish socialism requires the building of a strong, worldwide movement directed at winning political power, in each country. Winning political power before carrying out the social revolution converting the means of life from class to common property is essential. For class-property is maintained and protected by political power. To try to by-pass the state, thus leaving it in the hands of the enemies of socialism, would have disastrous results. We say that socialism is possible now, and act on this assumption by devoting our energies to preparing the working class to win political power. So long as the workers have not yet attained political power, the importance of cooperatives for the class struggle will always be very limited.
Capitalism nowadays needs an efficient and enterprising working class running production. Their participation in making decisions has to be tolerated to the extent that it aids the smooth running of industry. It is nonsensical to think in terms of industrial (or political) democracy in isolation from social activity as a whole. Only in a society which the means of life are held in common will democratic control by society over its affairs be achieved. While cooperatives bring some advantages to certain parts of the working class, they also leave the power of capital almost wholly untouched. Every new theory and new movement which claims to alleviate the workers' desperate situation within the confines of capitalism is grasped by the media with the eagerness of a drowning man clutching a straw. This is the case with the widespread resurgence of cooperatives. The exploitation of labor power is disguised behind the slogan “self-help” and “self-management.” Dominated by the business interests, the coop movement becomes a powerful lever of class collaboration. It cannot substitute for the class struggle.
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