A Political Theory of the Cooperative Enterprise

Abstract

The essay proposes a research's trace to elaborate a political theory of cooperation, in other words to consider the cooperative phenomenon as described by a particular way of collective action that is not included in the famous hirschmanian distinction between exit, voice and loyalty. Neither the voice option nor the exit one are believed in by the cooperative business participants, that practice a different form of action based on self-confidence and the partners' common interest. This form of collective action can be preliminary defined as entry. The entry brings back to the market the ones who chose for the exit option, at the same time preserving the typical voice option character: the strength of the protest against capitalistic relationships. The cooperative business represents, in virtue of this twofold feature of the way of action of its members, a political as well economic option.