A potential weakness in the Cooperative Structure

Counting the 2 days of orientation in Vancouver I have now had 4 days i.e. 32 hours of economics class. That’s 32 hours more than |I ever attended in university where I found the girls in the cafeteria more interesting than the theory of marginal utility.

I guess my take away from today`s session, in addition to the stuff covered by Karen and Dragana, was the potential weakness in the cooperative movement. The fact is that cooperatives work best when there is homogeneity of though amongst its members. The homogeneity leads to not just a commonality of goals but also in the logic, philosophy and interests which give a common direction.

Conversely therefore, if homogeneity gives way to heterogeneity i.e. there is a divergence of ideas, the divergence leads to inefficiency. The root of this problem is that a cooperative works on the democratic principle often referred to as the `tyranny of the majority``. So as views diverge, there is louder and more vehement protest from the minority factions, leading to a break down in cooperation.

Many people including myself have been wondering how cooperative principles can be applied to our society in BC where the multitude of ethnicities, backgrounds and cultures have the potential to make the groups heterogeneous right from the start.

On reflection though I think that may not be something that needs to deter us. In fact we may be able to take advantage of the circumstance to assist in the formation of several parallel cooperatives, each homogeneous within itself and simultaneously working in loose partnerships to benefit each other’s memberships. On of the learnings I am going to look for during the next few days is how do the cooperatives in Emelia-Romagna cooperate with each other.

For those of you who watch the markets and are wondering what is coming next from Italy, here is some food for thought: The combined public spending of all levels of government in Italy amounts to €15,000 per head per year. Out of this, €10,000 i.e. two-thirds is spent by the federal government which is running a deficit. They have now gone and abolished property taxes for all primary residences. The loss of municipal revenue is made up from increased transfer payments which further deepen the deficit. If Italy is forced by the EU or IMF to reduce its deficit, quality of life will suddenly nose dive. When I mentioned this to Professor Delbono, I referred to it as a gathering storm and he agreed. He thinks Italy is in a worse shape than Spain.

During the lunch break I went to the University Museums. I wanted to visit the Astronomy Department – Nicholas Copernicus worked here towards the end of the Dark Ages and there were many other great names associated to Bologna. Unfortunately it was closed. So I wandered into the Museum of Obstetrics (seemed to be the next logical thing to do). Saw some plaster casts of deformed foetuses dating back several centuries. They were grotesque so I will not post the photos but email me if you want to see them.

Also saw early microscopes, dental surgery equipment from the Roman period (think stone mason’s tools) and an 8 panel mural depicting 8 stories from the life of Moses. Have to try and go back.

Tomorrow we head for the hills, to visit the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises. It is located on the border with Austria. The terrain should make for a Sound of Music moment though I doubt if anyone wants to hear me sing.