Rethinking Co-operatives

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dc.contributor.authorLee, Jo-Anne
dc.contributor.authorSmallshaw, Brian
dc.contributor.authorPeredo, Ana Marie
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-09T16:24:04Z
dc.date.available2018-02-09T16:24:04Z
dc.date.issued2015-06
dc.descriptionOur research poses different questions about co-operatives from an anti-racist, decolonizing perspective. We research ethnic minority co-operatives in Canada, a subject that has received very little research to date. Investigating ethnic minority co-ops can contribute to rethinking how co-operatives impact the economic, cultural, social and political life of Canadian communities. Our three current Case Studies look at the racial exclusion and marginalization underlying the development of Japanese Canadian Fishing Co-operatives, Japanese Canadian Farming Co-operatives, and the Strathcona Housing Co-operatives. Co-ops are often portrayed in competing and complex ways. On the one hand, co-operatives are depicted as democratic, anti-corporate, community-oriented, an innovative engine for local economic development, and a powerful local -global movement. On the other hand, they are also perceived as corporatized, self-interested, parochial, and/or outdated. Despite their different emphases, dominant approaches to understanding co-operatives seek to generalize or speak about co-operatives universally, abstracting from the always contingent and particular nature of co-operatives in different contexts, localities, etc When we position co-operatives as a model for enterprises & alternative to global capitalism, what are we missing? How do unequal relations of power operate in and through cooperative enterprises? We need to question and problematize the hegemonic views of co-operatives, and examine the impact of co-operatives through the lenses of power, race, gender, and other critical theories. Implications For Future Research • Investigate ethnic minority cooperatives cross-sectorally to reveal contingency of cooperatives within context of racial state formation. • What factors are needed for cooperatives to be a tool of empowerment? • What difference does diversity make in cooperative governance? •How are seemingly distinct spheres of cooperative activities linked in their effects on the marginalization/empowerment of marginalized communities and individuals? Implications For Practice • Uncover alternative strategies of survival and resistance. • Better engagement with diverse challenges within co-operatives. • Diversity: build stronger co-operative movement. • Nurture alternative forms of social change. Implications For Policy • Policy formation: look at how racial, sexual, gender and class inequalities have shaped cooperative policies with differential effects. • Policy impacts: Government policies regulate entitlements and access to resources. • Co-operative policies at the organizational level: who benefits? Whose voices are heard or not heard under what conditions? • How are different policies used to contest racism, sexism, violence, etc? How are co-operatives used to promote social justice and not just economic advantage? Key Takeaways • To achieve its democratic promise, cooperative scholarship must be more critical; • Conventional narratives of cooperatives leave out many stories, consequently, our understanding of the scope of cooperatives is diminished; • ‘Social differences’ are socially produced, cooperatives are a site of struggle and constitutive of identities as well as being constituted by struggles over power; • There are no neutral actors; unequal power relations must be considered at the outset; • Need to move beyond making the “business case” for cooperatives; there are many social and economic justice implications for research, theory, policy and practice; • This task is urgent if we are to meet challenges of global 21st century without reproducing problems of the past.en_US
dc.format.availabilityFull-texten_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10587/1863
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMeasuring the Co-operative Difference Research Networken_US
dc.subject.se-space-enterprise-enCo-operativesen_US
dc.subject.se-space-enterprise-frCoopérativesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-geographic-enCanadaen_US
dc.subject.sespace-geographic-enBritish Columbia
dc.subject.sespace-geographic-frCanadaen_US
dc.subject.sespace-geographic-frColombie-Brittanique
dc.subject.sespace-populations-enEthnic Communityen_US
dc.subject.sespace-populations-enImmigranten_US
dc.subject.sespace-populations-enVisibie Minorityen_US
dc.subject.sespace-populations-frCommunautés ethniquesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-populations-frImmigrantsen_US
dc.subject.sespace-populations-frMinorités visiblesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-research-enMeasuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network (2010-2015)en_US
dc.subject.sespace-research-enConference of the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC)en_US
dc.subject.sespace-research-frRéseau de recherche pour mesurer la différence coopérative (2010-2015)en_US
dc.subject.sespace-research-frConférence de l'Association canadienne pour les études en coopération (ACÉC)en_US
dc.subject.sespace-sector-enAgriculture & Fisheriesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-sector-enHousing & Constructionen_US
dc.subject.sespace-sector-frAgriculture et pêcheriesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-sector-frLogement et constructionen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-enAlternative Economic Theory / Co-operative Theoryen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-enHistorical Studies / Biographiesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-enPolicies & Programs / Government Initiativesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-enSocial Justice & Socio-Political Transformationen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-frThéorie économique alternative / Théorie de coopérationen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-frÉtudes historiques / Biographiesen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-frPolitiques et programmes / Initiatives du gouvernementen_US
dc.subject.sespace-theme-frTransformation de la justice sociale et socio-politiqueen_US
dc.titleRethinking Co-operativesen_US
dc.typeConference Presentation / Paperen_US
dc.typePrésentation d’un colloque / article lors 'dun colloqueen_US
dc.typeConference Presentation / Paperen_US
dc.typePrésentation d’un colloque / article lors 'dun colloqueen_US
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