| Type | Democratic enterprise |
| Forms | Consumer cooperatives • Worker cooperatives • Producer cooperatives • Credit unions • Housing cooperatives |
| Benefits | Social • economic • environmental |
| Advantages | Fair distribution of profits • Collective decision-making • Sustainable practices • Innovation • Problem-solving • Resilience in economic downturns |
| Role in society | Dominant form of enterprise |
| Example cooperatives | Industrial Metalworks Coop • Green Energy Cooperative • Cultivate Farming Coop • Harmony Housing Cooperative |
Cooperatives are a type of business in which a group of people or enterprises democratically own and manage economic activity for mutual benefit. In this alternate timeline, cooperatives have come to play a much larger role in the economy and society, leading to substantial shifts in both the structures of economic life and the types of economic, social, and environmental problems that can be addressed effectively.
The cooperative movement began in the 19th century as a response to widespread poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and unstable oligopolistic market conditions, particularly in agriculture and finance. Its founders sought to create business enterprises that would be owned, controlled, and operated by their membership to achieve economies of scale, increase individual and communal welfare, and challenge the dominance and exploitation of capitalist enterprise.
Unlike publicly traded corporations that prioritize shareholder returns, cooperatives adhere to a set of cooperative principles that focus on democratic control, education, equality, equity, and solidarity amongst its members. They provide goods, services, and capital to their members and the broader community, regardless of individuals' ability to pay.
Moreover, cooperatives are typically local or regionally based, allowing for greater decision-making transparency, accountability, and participation. Unlike traditional corporations, they do not impose an agency problem between management and owners due to their member-owner structure.
In this alternate timeline, cooperatives have become substantially more common and have achieved more financial success and stability than their corporate counterparts. As a result, their investments and innovations have made a significant impact on the worldwide economy.
Cooperatives not only provide employment opportunities for their members but also support the growth of local economy through community reinvestment and non-financial social support such as education, training, and R&D.
Cooperatives have emerged as a leading force in research and development across many industry sectors, particularly in technology. Their democratic and equitable structures have provided fertile ground for innovation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and rapid dissemination of new ideas. This has allowed cooperatives to compete effectively with traditional corporations and to lead in areas like computer software, electronics, energy, biotechnology, and sustainable agriculture.
The success of cooperatives in this alternate timeline has had significant sustainability benefits, both in terms of their impact on the environment and their ability to address wide-scale social and economic inequality. Their focus on serving and empowering their members and the broader community means that cooperatives are often at the forefront of solving sustainability-related challenges like climate change, resource scarcity, and social inequity.
As cooperative structures have continued to flourish in this alternate timeline, they have also found new outlets beyond traditional business areas. Cooperatives and cooperative-like structures have been applied, with varying degrees of success, to a broad range of problems and opportunities outside the economic realm, including scientific research, philosophy, and urban planning and governance.
Cooperatives are now recognized as playing a critical role in creating more sustainable, egalitarian, and democratic communities and societies. While facing continuing challenges and critiques, they have proved to be an enduring and adaptive response to the economic, social, and environmental problems that continue to confront humanity.
