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110-561: The origins of the Archive date from 1903, when the Robert Owen correspondence collection was transferred to the Co-operative Union , and it has been built up gradually over the last century. The Co-operative College is also located in the building – it was founded in 1919, and in 1946. It moved away from Manchester, because of the damage caused in its headquarters by bombing raids during

220-622: A "New View of Society". He outlined his position in a report to the committee of the House of Commons on the country's Poor Laws . As misery and trade stagnation after the Napoleonic Wars drew national attention, the government called on Owen for advice on how to alleviate the industrial concerns. Although he ascribed the immediate misery to the wars, he saw it as the underlying cause of competition of human labour with machinery and recommended setting up self-sufficient communities. Owen appealed to

330-632: A Co-operative Division. Co-operatives were brought to Latin America and developed there by 1902. Substantial independent efforts to develop employee-owned enterprises or co-operatives have occurred as responses to crises, such as 2001 crisis in Argentina . In Brazil, the World Social Forum process lead to the articulation of Solidarity Economics, a modern, activist formulation of co-operativism. The Fair Trade certification movement established first in

440-653: A better person'. He gained wealth in the early 1800s from a textile mill at New Lanark , Scotland. Having trained as a draper in Stamford, Lincolnshire he worked in London before relocating aged 18 to Manchester and textile manufacturing. In 1824, he moved to America and put most of his fortune in an experimental socialistic community at New Harmony, Indiana , as a preliminary for his utopian society. It lasted about two years. Other Owenite communities also failed, and in 1828 Owen returned to London, where he continued to champion

550-822: A committee member of the Manchester Board of Health, instigated principally by Thomas Percival to press for improvements in the health and working conditions of factory workers. In July 1799 Owen and his partners bought the New Lanark mill from David Dale, and Owen became its manager in January 1800. Encouraged by his management success in Manchester, Owen hoped to conduct the New Lanark mill on higher principles than purely commercial ones. It had been established in 1785 by David Dale and Richard Arkwright . Its water power provided by

660-463: A four-sided block each displaying a different colour representing the behaviour of the employee. The colour for poor performance was black and he believed it aligned with the Scottish term 'black-affronted' meaning to be embarrassed, while the opposite is white to symbolize meritorious conduct. His strategy was successful as employees at the time cared about maintaining a good relationship with Owen to leave

770-591: A good education and better living condition to live righteously. He valued social and educational reforms for the middle class and rejected the capitalist power which elevated the powerful figures at the expense of others. Regardless of his adversaries' attacks, he remained persuasive of his goals. Owen funded kids' schools and advocated for free education, equal rights and freedom. He participated in legislation to improve labourers' wages and working conditions. Owen believed compassion, kindness and solidarity corrected bad habits, encouraged self- discipline and enhanced

880-440: A good impression on him since he took a different approach to employee regulation. This idea supports his overall thought that human nature is moulded for better or worse by the environment. Owen had a significant impact on British socialism as well as on unionism which helped him set an example for others. Owen adopted new principles to raise the standard of goods his workers produced. A cube with faces painted in different colours

990-428: A home care agency, an organic bread factory co-op and an engineering firm. Some have already incorporated environmental and/or Fair Trade criteria into their products, such as the aforementioned bread-maker, Organic Valley , and Equal Exchange. Credit unions were established in the U.S. by 1908. Their member-owned, co-operative structure created stable governance structure, so that they were only slightly affected by

1100-662: A long history in the U.S., including a factory in the 1790s, the Knights of Labor, and the Grange. In Colorado, the Meadowlark cooperative administered the only private free land program in the United States, providing many services to its members who buy and sell together. In New York City, several food co-operatives were founded around 2010, adding to others, some existing since the 1970s. The U.S. has some diverse worker co-operatives, such as

1210-539: A multinational concern. Co-operatives were also successful in Yugoslavia under Tito where Workers' Councils gained a significant role in management. In many European countries, cooperative institutions have a predominant market share in the retail banking and insurance businesses. There are also concrete proposals for the cooperative management of the common goods, such as the one by Initiative 136 in Greece. In

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1320-476: A part in the development and success of co-operative movement. The National Co-operative Archive holds books and pamphlets giving details and financial statistics of the history of the co-operative movement and dividend (dividend: the way in which co-operative societies share the benefits with its members). The Archive holds many records relating to individual co-operative societies. These include national organisations, some local, and other independent societies in

1430-505: A participant at New Harmony, asserted that it was doomed to failure for lack of individual sovereignty and personal property. In describing the community, Warren explained: "We had a world in miniature – we had enacted the French revolution over again with despairing hearts instead of corpses as a result ... It appeared that it was nature's inherent law of diversity that had conquered us ... our 'united interests' were directly at war with

1540-470: A person's attitude. Force oppressed people and affected their mental health . In his view, unless people were educated in a proper environment, obtained equal opportunities for jobs and maintained social norms, differences between labour classes, conflicts, and inequalities would persist just as in the British colonies. Without making any changes in the national institutions, he believed that even reorganizing

1650-451: A successful co-op social enterprise by 1999. A citizen's group began operating wind turbines and involving broad community ownership in the U.K. by 1995. Deregulation of the electricity markets allowed energy co-operative social entrepreneurs to begin to create alternatives to the monopolies in various countries. In France, where an enormous percentage of the power is generated by nuclear sources, this occurred after 2000. In Spain, wind power

1760-725: A thousand residents by the end of its first year. The socialistic society was dissolved in 1827, but many of its scientists, educators, artists and other inhabitants, including Owen's four sons, Robert Dale, William, David Dale, and Richard Dale Owen, and his daughter Jane Dale Owen Fauntleroy, remained at New Harmony after the experiment ended. Other experiments in the United States included communal settlements at Blue Spring, near Bloomington , Indiana, at Yellow Springs , Ohio, and at Forestville Commonwealth at Earlton , New York, as well as other projects in New York , Pennsylvania , and Tennessee . Nearly all of these had ended before New Harmony

1870-463: A treatment which evaluates the role of capital in labor managed firms using the conventional economic production formula Q = f(K, L). At one point in the 1990s he worked at the World Bank with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. Co-operative enterprises were formed successfully following Rochdale, and an international association was formed in 1895. Co-operative enterprises are now widespread, with one of

1980-564: A utopian experiment at Orbiston , near Glasgow, but this failed after about two years. In the 1830s, additional experiments in socialistic co-operatives were made in Ireland and Britain, the most important being at Ralahine , established in 1831 in County Clare , Ireland, and at Tytherley , begun in 1839 in Hampshire , England. The former proved a remarkable success for three-and-a-half years until

2090-674: A weekly account audit, having 3 trustees, and not having meetings in pubs (to avoid the temptation of drinking profits). The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers was a group of 10 weavers and 20 others in Rochdale , England, that was formed in 1844. As the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution was forcing more and more skilled workers into poverty, these tradesmen decided to band together to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford. With lessons from prior failed attempts at co-operation in mind, they designed

2200-531: A weekly newspaper to gain support for his ideas. In 1832 Owen opened the National Equitable Labour Exchange system, a time-based currency in which the exchange of goods was effected using labour notes; this system superseded the usual means of exchange and middlemen. The London exchange continued until 1833, with a Birmingham branch operating for just a few months until July 1833. Owen also became involved in trade unionism, briefly leading

2310-484: A wide range of subjects like local and family history, business development, consumerism , leisure , retailing , manufacturing, international co-operation and education. Co-operatives have always involved a wide range of people and form part of their communities, which is why the National Co-operative Archive embraces many subjects: The Archive holds much correspondence of individuals that have played

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2420-538: A year before his death. Although he had spent most of his life in England and Scotland, Owen returned to his native town of Newtown at the end of his life. He died there on 17 November 1858 and was buried there on 21 November. He died penniless apart from an annual income drawn from a trust established by his sons in 1844. Owen tested his social and economic ideas at New Lanark, where he won his workers' confidence and continued to have success through improved efficiency at

2530-523: Is often quoted in a comment by Allen at the time, "All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer". Having invested most of his fortune in the failed New Harmony communal experiment, Owen was no longer a wealthy capitalist. However, he remained the head of a vigorous propaganda effort to promote industrial equality, free education for children and adequate living conditions in factory towns, while delivering lectures in Europe and publishing

2640-426: Is the most anti-social , impolitic, and irrational that can be devised; that under its influence all the superior and valuable qualities of the human race are repressed from infancy, and that the most unnatural means are used to bring out the most injurious propensities ... Owen had originally been a follower of the classical liberal, utilitarian Jeremy Bentham, who believed that free markets , in particular

2750-642: Is typical of this system. Its development was related with a dyeing technique using the roots of the wild madder (ριζάρι, Rubia tinctorum ) and providing an indelible and shiny color. 22 villages possessing 24 factories participated to the Syntrofia, which had 6000 individual members: financiers and landowners providing for capital and land, technicians providing knowhow, workers providing labor. It operated several branch stores abroad (Amsterdam, Dresden, Hamburg, Leipzig, Odessa, London, St. Petersburg...). In 1810, its capital amounted to 20 000 000 gold francs, deposited in

2860-619: The Grand National Consolidated Trade Union (GNCTU) before its collapse in 1834. Socialism first became current in British terminology in discussions of the Association of all Classes of all Nations , which Owen formed in 1835 and served as its initial leader. Owen's secular views also gained enough influence among the working classes to cause the Westminster Review to comment in 1839 that his principles were

2970-844: The Ruthwell Presbyterian Church in Dumfriesshire , Scotland founded a friendly society to create a cooperative depository institution at which his poorest parishioners could hold savings accounts accruing interest for sickness and old-age , which was the first established savings bank that would be merged into the Trustee Savings Bank between 1970 and 1985. In the decades that followed, several cooperatives or cooperative societies formed including Lennoxtown Friendly Victualling Society, founded in 1812. By 1830, there were several hundred co-operatives. Some were initially successful, but most cooperatives founded in

3080-609: The United States in October 1824 to establish an experimental community in Indiana . In January 1825 Owen used a portion of his funds to purchase an existing town of 180 buildings and several thousand acres of land along the Wabash River in Indiana . George Rapp 's Harmony Society , the religious group that owned the property and had founded the communal village of Harmony (or Harmonie) on

3190-442: The United States of America , but both communities failed. Although Owen inspired the co-operative movement, others – such as Dr. William King (1786–1865) – took his ideas and made them more workable and practical. King believed in starting small, and realized that the working classes would need to set up co-operatives for themselves, so he saw his role as one of instruction. He founded a monthly periodical called The Co-operator ,

3300-584: The cotton mills of New Lanark , Scotland . It was here that the first co-operative store was opened. Spurred on by the success of this, he had the idea of forming "villages of co-operation" where workers would drag themselves out of poverty by growing their own food, making their own clothes and ultimately becoming self-governing. He tried to form such communities in Orbiston in Scotland and in New Harmony, Indiana in

3410-417: The friendly society , building society , and mutual savings bank were earlier forms of similar institutions. Robert Owen (1771–1858) is considered as the father of the cooperative movement. A Welshman who made his fortune in the cotton trade, Owen believed in putting his workers in a good environment with access to education for themselves and their children. These ideas were put into effect successfully in

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3520-468: The mastic trees, growing only on this island and used for cosmetic, culinary and medicinal purposes. In the rest of Europe, primarily in Britain and France, the cooperative movement began mainily in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution and the increasing mechanisation of the economy transformed society and threatened the livelihoods of many workers. The concurrent labour and social movements and

3630-534: The working class , lead in developing co-operatives and the trade union movement , and support child labour legislation and free co-educational schools. Robert Owen was born in Newtown , a small market town in Montgomeryshire , Wales, on 14 May 1771, to Anne (Williams) and Robert Owen. His father was a saddler , ironmonger and local postmaster; his mother was the daughter of a Newtown farming family. Young Robert

3740-588: The 1830s. While in Manchester, Owen borrowed £100 from his brother William, to enter into a partnership to make spinning mules , a new invention for spinning cotton threads, but exchanged his business shares within a few months for six spinning mules that he worked in rented factory space. In 1792, when Owen was about 21 years old, mill-owner Peter Drinkwater made him manager of the Piccadilly Mill at Manchester. However, after two years with Drinkwater, Owen voluntarily gave up his contract of partnership and left

3850-514: The 1880s, the Knights of Labor and the Grange both promoted member-owned organizations. Energy co-operatives were founded in the U.S. during the Depression and the New Deal. Diverse kinds of co-operatives were founded and have continued to perform successfully in different areas: in agriculture, wholesale purchasing, telephones, and in consumer-food buying. James Warbasse, an American doctor, became

3960-678: The 18th century, a particular form of cooperative organization was developed in certain areas under Ottoman sovereignty . It was associated with specific agricultural or craft products destined to international markets. Derived from the Byzantine guilds , it was favored by the Ottoman administration because it was enabling better control of the production and tax collection. The Common Company (Syntrofia) of Ambelakia (1780 to 1812), established in Thessaly and providing Europe with high quality red cotton yarns,

4070-567: The 2008 mortgage securities crisis. Electrical co-operatives became an important economic strategy for U.S. rural areas beginning in the 1930s, and continue to operate successfully through events such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012. However, the majority in the U.S. demonstrate that co-operative values do not necessarily lead to a progressive social and environmental consciousness, as many remain focuses on fossil fuel and nuclear fuels. Nevertheless, new generation renewable power co-operatives have begun to be organized. Agricultural co-operatives in

4180-458: The 2008 mortgage-securities crisis. Renewable Energy co-operatives in Europe became important in the early development of windpower in Denmark beginning in the 1970s. Germany followed in the early 1990s, first on a larger scale with wind co-ops, then with a citizen's movement which challenged the reliance on nuclear power, organized, challenged the energy monopolists there, and successfully created

4290-554: The Archive. Activities and events involving young people are in journals and society records at the Archive. The co-operative movement took an active role in the war effort, and the Archive holds a great deal of information in a variety of media relating to both World Wars. The Archive holds journals which provide information on the interior design of buildings and photographs showing the construction and special symbols used in building designs. Robert Owen Robert Owen ( / ˈ oʊ ɪ n / ; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858)

4400-556: The Bank of Vienna. Other well-known cooperatives established in Greece during the Ottoman period, are the Shipping Guilds of the islands Hydra , Spetses and Psara ; the Community of Mantemi, exploiting the mines of Chalkidhiki ( Macedonia ); and the Community of “Mastic Villages” (Μαστιχοχώρια) de Chios ( North Aegean ), whose activities were based on the mastic - a resin extracted from

4510-930: The Citizens Coalition for Economic Justice in South Korea, the Seikatsu Club Consumers' Co-operative Union in Japan, and the Self-Employed Women's Association in India. Other noteworthy efforts include Sophon Suphapong's efforts as governor in Thailand with agricultural co-ops and Antonio Yapsutco Fortich's contributions in the Philippines helping formulate a co-operative strategy with sugar workers. The International Labor Organization, originally established in 1919, has

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4620-546: The Formation of Character at New Lanark in 1818. This and other programmes at New Lanark provided free education from infancy to adulthood. In addition, he zealously supported factory legislation that culminated in the Cotton Mills and Factories Act of 1819. Owen also had interviews and communications with leading members of the British government, including its premier, Robert Banks Jenkinson, Lord Liverpool . He also met many of

4730-642: The Group. Representatives of the societies that part own the Group are elected to the Group's national board. The Group manages The Co-operative brand and the Co-operative Retail Trading Group (CRTG), which sources and promotes goods for food stores. There is a similar purchasing group (CTTG) for co-operative travel agents. The United States first known Co-op was the mutual fire insurance company founded in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin. The first dairy co-op

4840-803: The League was renamed the Women's Cooperative Guild. The Guild organized around working women's issues and expanding the Cooperative Movement. It continued to publish articles advocating for women's involvement in the Cooperative Movement in the "Women's Corner," and later through its own publications such as "The importance of women for the cooperative movement." The Guild also opened the Sunderland cooperative store in 1902, which catered to poor working-class women. It engaged in many political campaigns concerning women's health, women's suffrage and pacifism. Until recently

4950-585: The Mind and Practice of the Human Race (1849), he went on to say that character is formed by a combination of Nature or God and the circumstances of the individual's experience. Citing beneficial results at New Lanark, Scotland, during 30 years of work there, Owen concluded that a person's "character is not made by , but for the individual," and that nature and society are responsible for each person's character and conduct. Owen's agitation for social change, along with

5060-642: The New Harmony community into a centre for educational reform, scientific research and artistic expression. Although Owen sought to build a "Village of Unity and Mutual Cooperation" south of the town, his grand plan was never fully realised and he returned to Britain to continue his work. During his long absences from New Harmony, Owen left the experiment under the day-to-day management of his sons, Robert Dale Owen and William Owen, and his business partner, Maclure. However, New Harmony proved to be an economic failure, lasting about two years, although it had attracted over

5170-593: The Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society (1973) and the South Suburban Co-operative Society (1984). By the 1990s, CWS's share of the market had declined considerably and many came to doubt the viability of co-operative model. CWS sold its factories to Andrew Regan in 1994. Regan returned in 1997 with a £1.2 billion bid for CWS. There were allegations of " carpet-bagging " – new members who joined simply to make money from

5280-677: The Second World War. It was relocated in Stanford Hall , and two Archives started to be developed there. By the late 1990s, it was agreed that the residential model was no longer required for co-operative training and education and the decision was taken to merge the two Archives with material held by the Co-operative Union which owned Holyoake House, and following the steps to create a National Co-operative Archive, major collections were deposited by other co-operative organisations, enhancing

5390-486: The U.S. have had some mainstream success, including Welch's , Ocean Spray , and Land O'Lakes . In the United States, a co-operative association was founded by 1920. Currently there are over 29,000 co-operatives employing 2 million people with over $ 652 billion in annual revenue. To address the need for an organization oriented to newer and smaller co-ops, the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives

5500-622: The UK, co-operatives formed the Co-operative Party in the early 20th century to represent members of co-ops in Parliament. The Co-operative Party now has a permanent electoral pact with the Labour Party , and some Labour MPs are Co-operative Party members. UK co-operatives retain a significant market share in food retail , insurance, banking, funeral services, and the travel industry in many parts of

5610-456: The UK. These records can be particularly useful for knowing about old products, looking at the history of advertising and for social historians. They give a nostalgic view of the consumer culture and the trends of the past. The co-operative movement was active in making film from the turn of the nineteenth century. The films were aimed at promoting co-operative ideas and values. The collections can be used to research both changes in fashion and

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5720-473: The United States. In 1817, Owen publicly claimed that all religions were false. In 1854, aged 83, Owen converted to spiritualism after a series of sittings with Maria B. Hayden , an American medium credited with introducing spiritualism to England. He made a public profession of his new faith in his publication The Rational Quarterly Review and in a pamphlet titled The Future of the Human Race; or great glorious and future revolution to be effected through

5830-566: The United States. Owenism , among the first socialist ideologies active in the United States, can be seen as an instigator of the later socialist movement. Owen convinced William Maclure , a wealthy Scottish scientist and philanthropist living in Philadelphia to join him at New Harmony and become his financial partner. Maclure's involvement went on to attract scientists, educators and artists such as Thomas Say , Charles-Alexandre Lesueur , and Madame Marie Duclos Fretageot . These helped to turn

5940-527: The United States. The Manea Colony site has been excavated by the Cambridge Archaeology Unit (CAU) based at the University of Cambridge . Although Owen made further brief visits to the United States, London became his permanent home and the centre of his work in 1828. After extended friction with William Allen and some other business partners, Owen relinquished all connections with New Lanark. He

6050-576: The Utopian community at New Harmony, and his socialist beliefs. The audience for his ideas included three former U.S. presidents – John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , and James Madison – the outgoing US President James Monroe , and the President-elect, John Quincy Adams . His meetings were perhaps the first discussions of socialism in the Americas; they were certainly a big step towards discussion of it in

6160-409: The agency of departed spirits of good and superior men and women . Owen claimed to have had medium contact with the spirits of Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson and others. He explained that the purpose of these was to change "the present, false, disunited and miserable state of human existence, for a true, united and happy state... to prepare the world for universal peace, and to infuse into all

6270-561: The basis for development and growth of the modern cooperative movement was established. Financially, cooperative banks, called credit unions in the US, were invented in Germany in the mid-19th century, first by Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch (1852, urban), then by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (1864, rural). While Schulze-Delitzsch is chronologically earlier, Raiffeisen has proven more influential over time – see history of credit unions . In Britain,

6380-503: The best way to reorganise society in general, and called his vision the "New Moral World". Owen's utopian model changed little in his lifetime. His developed model envisaged an association of 500–3,000 people as the optimum for a working community. While mainly agricultural, it would possess the best machinery, offer varied employment, and as far as possible be self-contained. Owen went on to explain that as such communities proliferated, "unions of them federatively united shall be formed in

6490-509: The circle of tens, hundreds and thousands", linked by a common interest. Owen grew to be known as a utopian socialist and his works are considered to reflect this attitude. Although he could be considered a member of the bourgeoisie his relationship with this class was often complicated. He fought to pass legislation that benefitted workers. He was an advocate for the Cotton Mills and Factories Act 1819 . He supported socialist ideas so his views did not have an immediate impact in Britain or

6600-423: The collection. The relocation of the Co-operative College at its original home in Manchester enabled the development of the Archive and the Rochdale Pioneers Museum . In 2007, the National Co-operative Archive received Designated Collections Status, reflecting its importance to the heritage of England. The Co-operative Heritage Trust was formed in this year to independently safeguard the collections relating to

6710-428: The company, and went into partnership with other entrepreneurs to establish and later manage the Chorlton Twist Mills in Chorlton-on-Medlock . By the early 1790s, Owen's entrepreneurial spirit and management skills and progressive moral views were emerging. In 1793, he was elected as a member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society , where the ideas of the Enlightenment were discussed. He also became

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6820-403: The cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance , and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement began with the application of cooperative principles to business organization. The cooperative spirit spread in Greece earlier than in other European countries. During

6930-551: The correct formation of people's characters called for placing them under proper environmental influences – physical, moral and social – from their earliest years. These notions of inherent irresponsibility in humans and the effect of early influences on an individual's character formed the basis of Owen's system of education and social reform . Relying on his observations, experiences and thoughts, Owen saw his view of human nature as original and "the most basic and necessary constituent in an evolving science of society". His philosophy

7040-682: The country after World War II created a legislative opportunity in which politician Hans Boeckler significantly lobbied for the co-determination ("Mitbestimmung") policies which were established, requiring large companies to include a Workers' Council in the Board of Directors. These policies have had some influence on European Union policies. Emilia Romagna, Italy had two separate and strong co-operative traditions that resisted Cold War interference by US agencies and have worked effectively in conjunction with each other. Co-operative banks have become very successful throughout Europe, and were able to respond more effectively than most corporate banks during

7150-400: The country. Denmark has had a strong cooperative movement , especially in the farming and industrial sectors. Co-housing is also common in Denmark in which residents share a common eating and gathering space. In some instances, the living spaces are financed by the Danish Housing Association, but other times residents collectively own the land and property. In Germany, the rebuilding of

7260-436: The creed of many of them. However, by 1846, the only lasting result of Owen's agitation for social change, carried on through public meetings, pamphlets, periodicals, and occasional treatises, remained the Co-operative movement, and for a time even that seemed to have collapsed. As Owen grew older and more radical in his views, his influence began to decline. Owen published his memoirs, The Life of Robert Owen , in 1857,

7370-446: The early 19th century had failed by 1840. However, Lockhurst Lane Industrial Co-operative Society (founded in 1832 and now Heart of England Co-operative Society ), and Galashiels and Hawick Co-operative Societies (1839 or earlier, merged with The Co-operative Group) still trade today. It was not until 1844 when the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers established the " Rochdale Principles " on which they ran their cooperative, that

7480-507: The editor of the "Women's Corner" in the Co-operative News publication, and Mary Lawrenson , a teacher, recognized the need for a separate women's organization within the Cooperative Movement and began organizing a "Woman's League for the Spread of Co-operation" in 1883. This League formally met for the first time during the 1883 Co-operative Congress in Edinburgh in a group of 50 women and established Acland as its organizing secretary. By 1884 it had six different branches with 195 members, and

7590-499: The expansion of large corporate monopolies. The country's first credit unions were in Massachusetts while The Cooperative League of the United States of America, known today as the National Cooperative Business Association was organized in 1916 to promote cooperatives. In the late 1960s the Co-op movement entered a new phase with Food cooperatives and Food Conspiracies as an alternative to corporate agriculture that linked organic farmers to urban consumers. The co-operative model has

7700-489: The falls of the River Clyde turned its cotton-spinning operation into one of Britain's largest. About 2,000 individuals were involved, 500 of them children brought to the mill at the age of five or six from the poorhouses and charities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Dale, known for his benevolence, treated the children well, but the general condition of New Lanark residents was unsatisfactory, despite efforts by Dale and his son-in-law Owen to improve their workers' lives. Many of

7810-461: The first edition of which appeared on 1 May 1828. This gave a mixture of co-operative philosophy and practical advice about running a shop using cooperative principles. King advised people not to cut themselves off from society , but rather to form a society within a society, and to start with a shop because, "We must go to a shop every day to buy food and necessaries – why then should we not go to our own shop?" He proposed sensible rules, such as having

7920-596: The first of whom died in infancy. Their seven survivors were four sons and three daughters: Robert Dale (1801–1877), William (1802–1842), Ann (or Anne) Caroline (1805–1831), Jane Dale (1805–1861), David Dale (1807–1860), Richard Dale (1809–1890) and Mary (1810–1832). Owen's four sons, Robert Dale, William, David Dale and Richard, and his daughter Jane Dale, followed their father to the United States, becoming US citizens and permanent residents in New Harmony, Indiana. Owen's wife Caroline and two of their daughters, Anne Caroline and Mary, remained in Britain, where they died in

8030-476: The first president of the U.S. National Co-operative Business Association. He wrote extensively on co-operative history and philosophy. Benjamin Ward began an important effort in co-operative economic theory in the 1950s, with Jaroslav Vanek developing a general theory. David Ellerman began a line of theoretical thinking beginning with legal principles, developing especially the labor theory of property, and later reaching

8140-449: The individualities of persons and circumstances and the instinct of self-preservation". Warren's observations on the reasons for the community's failure led to the development of American individualist anarchism , of which he was its original theorist. Some historians have traced the demise of New Harmony to serial disagreements among its members. Social experiments also began in Scotland in 1825, when Abram Combe , an Owenite, attempted

8250-513: The issues they attempted to address describe the climate at the time. The first documented consumer cooperative was founded in 1769, in a barely furnished cottage in Fenwick, East Ayrshire , when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the Fenwick Weavers' Society . In 1810, Rev. Henry Duncan of

8360-516: The largest and most successful examples being the industrial Mondragón Cooperative Corporation in the Basque country of Spain . Mondragon Co-op was founded under the oppressive conditions of Fascist Franco Spain after community-based democracy-building activities of a priest, Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta . They have become an extremely diverse network of co-operative enterprises, a huge enterprise in Spain, and

8470-508: The manufacture of clothing and shoes. The co-operative movement made functional work wear along with more fashionable items. Co-operative members have participated in adult education through their societies since the middle of the nineteenth century and some co-operatives societies had their own libraries. The catalogues of these libraries give a picture of the reading habits. Entertainment, dances, day trips and holidays, in which co-operatives were involved, are in journals and society records at

8580-614: The merger of many independent retail societies, and their wholesale societies and federations. In 1863, twenty years after the Rochdale Pioneers opened their co-operative, the North of England Co-operative Society was launched by 300 individual co-ops across Yorkshire and Lancashire . By 1872, it had become known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS). Through the 20th century, smaller societies merged with CWS, such as

8690-429: The mill owner's "truck shop", which charged high prices for shoddy goods. Unlike others, Owen's truck store offered goods at prices only slightly above their wholesale cost, passing on the savings from bulk purchases to his customers and placing alcohol sales under strict supervision. These principles became the basis for Britain's co-operative shops, some of which continue trading in altered forms to this day. To test

8800-474: The mill. The community also earned an international reputation. Social reformers, statesmen and royalty, including the future Tsar Nicholas I of Russia , visited New Lanark to study its methods. The opinions of many such visitors were favourable. Some of Owen's schemes displeased his partners, forcing him to arrange for other investors to buy his share of the business in 1813, for the equivalent of US$ 800,000. The new investors, who included Jeremy Bentham and

8910-499: The movement's heritage at a time of crisis for the Co-operative Group as a supportive entity. The Trust manages both archive and Rochdale Pioneers Museum – seen as the birthplace of the modern global movement. The Trust became an incorporated charity on the 11th of October 2019, with an independent board of Trustees. The Trust holds accredited status for its museum collections (February 2020). The Archive contains information about

9020-622: The next twelve years of his life, employed initially at Satterfield's Drapery in Saint Ann's Square. On a visit to Scotland, Owen met and fell in love with Ann (or Anne) Caroline Dale, daughter of David Dale , a Glasgow philanthropist and the proprietor of the large New Lanark Mills. After their marriage on 30 September 1799, the Owens set up a home in New Lanark , but later moved to Braxfield House in Lanark . Robert and Caroline Owen had eight children,

9130-504: The now famous Rochdale Principles , and over a period of four months they struggled to pool one pound sterling per person for a total of 28 pounds of capital. On December 21, 1844, they opened their store with a very meagre selection of butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and a few candles. Within three months, they expanded their selection to include tea and tobacco, and they were soon known for providing high quality, unadulterated goods. The Co-operative Group formed gradually over 140 years from

9240-443: The organisation participated in social justice activism, but has now closed. In Russia the village co-operative ( obshchina or mir ), operated from pre-serfdom times until the 20th century. Raiffeisen and Schultz-Delitsch developed an independently formulated co-operative model in Germany, the credit union. The model also moved abroad, reaching the United States by the 1880s and the Knights of Labour's projects. Leland Stanford,

9350-585: The policy at New Lanark . By 1817 he had formulated the goal of an eight-hour working day with the slogan "eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest". In 1813 Owen authored and published A New View of Society, or Essays on the Principle of the Formation of the Human Character , the first of four essays he wrote to explain the principles behind his philosophy of socialistic reform. In this he writes: ... the present arrangement of society

9460-449: The proprietor, having ruined himself by gambling, had to sell his interest. Tytherley, known as Harmony Hall or Queenwood College , was designed by the architect Joseph Hansom. This also failed. Another social experiment, Manea Colony in the Isle of Ely , Cambridgeshire, launched in the late 1830s by William Hodson, likewise an Owenite, but it failed in a couple of years and Hodson emigrated to

9570-466: The railroad magnate and Robber Baron, became a Senator and advocated for co-operatives. By 1920 a national association had formed in the U.S. This organization began to develop international programs, and by the 1970s, a World Council formed. Co-operatives in the U.S. have a long history, including an early factory in the 1790s. By the 1860s Brigham Young had started applying co-operative ideas in Utah, and by

9680-530: The retail societies. It was in this climate that, in 2000, CWS merged with the UK's second largest society, Co-operative Retail Services . Its headquarters complex is situated on the north side of Manchester city centre adjacent to the Manchester Victoria railway station. The complex is made up of many different buildings with two notable tower blocks of New Century House and the solar panel-clad CIS tower. Other independent societies are part owners of

9790-451: The right of workers to move and choose their employers, would release workers from the excessive power of capitalists. However, Owen developed his own, pro- socialist outlook. In addition, Owen as a deist , criticised organised religion, including the Church of England , and developed a belief system of his own. Owen embraced socialism in 1817, a turning point in his life, in which he pursued

9900-451: The rulers and leading statesmen of Europe. Owen's biggest success was in support of youth education and early child care. As a pioneer in Britain, notably Scotland, Owen provided an alternative to the "normal authoritarian approach to child education". Supporters of the methods argued that the manners of children brought up under his system were more graceful, genial and unconstrained; health, plenty and contentment prevailed; drunkenness

10010-427: The sale – and more seriously fraud and commercial leaks. After a lengthy battle, Regan's bid was seen off and two senior CWS executives were dismissed and imprisoned for fraud. Regan was cleared of charges. The episode recharged CWS and its membership base. Tony Blair 's Co-operative Commission , chaired by John Monks , made major recommendations for the co-operative movement, including the organisation and marketing of

10120-401: The self-interest of capitalists, pointing out that just as machines need proper care and treatment to guarantee they work smoothly and efficiently, so do humans. Owen proposed that communities of some 1,200 people should settle on land from 1,000 to 1,500 acres (405 to 607 ha), all living in one building with a public kitchen and dining halls. (The proposed size may have been influenced by

10230-441: The site in 1814, decided in 1824 to relocate to Pennsylvania . Owen renamed it New Harmony and made the village his preliminary model for a Utopian community. Owen sought support for his socialist vision among American thinkers, reformers, intellectuals and public statesmen. On 25 February and 7 March 1825, Owen gave addresses in the House of Representatives to Congress and others in the US government, outlining his vision for

10340-613: The size of the village of New Lanark.) Owen also proposed that each family have its private apartment and the responsibility for the care of its children up to the age of three. Thereafter children would be raised by the community, but their parents would have access to them at mealtimes and on other occasions. Owen further suggested that such communities be established by individuals, parishes, counties , or other governmental units. In each case, there would be effective supervision by qualified persons. Work and enjoyment of its results should be experienced communally. Owen believed his idea would be

10450-431: The spirit of charity, forbearance and love." Spiritualists claimed after Owen's death that his spirit had dictated to the medium Emma Hardinge Britten in 1871 the " Seven Principles of Spiritualism ", used by their National Union as "the basis of its religious philosophy". Owen was a reformer, philanthropist, community builder, and spiritualist who spent his life seeking to improve the lives of others. An advocate of

10560-535: The viability of his ideas for self-sufficient working communities, Owen began experimenting with communal living in the United States in 1825. Among the most famous efforts was the one set up at New Harmony , Indiana. Of the 130 identifiable communitarian experiments in the United States before the American Civil War , at least 16 were Owenite or Owenite-influenced. New Harmony was Owen's earliest and most ambitious of these. Owen and his son William sailed to

10670-515: The well-known Quaker William Allen , were content to accept a £5,000 return on their capital. The ownership change also provided Owen with a chance to broaden his philanthropy , advocating improvements in workers' rights and child labour laws, and free education for children. Owen felt that human character is formed by conditions over which individuals have no control. Thus individuals could not be praised or blamed for their behaviour or situation in life. This principle led Owen to conclude that

10780-776: The work of the Owenites and his children, helped to bring lasting social reforms in women's and workers' rights, establish free public libraries and museums, child care and public, co-educational schools, and pre-Marxian communism, and develop the Co-operative and trade union movements. New Harmony, Indiana, and New Lanark, Scotland, two towns with which he is closely associated, remain as reminders of his efforts. Owen's legacy of public service continued with his four sons, Robert Dale, William, David Dale, and Richard Dale, and his daughter, Jane, who followed him to America to live in New Harmony, Indiana: Cooperative movement The history of

10890-475: The workers were from the lowest social levels: theft, drunkenness and other vices were common and education and sanitation neglected. Most families lived in one room. More respectable people rejected the long hours and demoralising drudgery of the mills. Until a series of Truck Acts (1831–1887) required employers to pay their employees in common currency, many operated a truck system , paying workers wholly or in part with tokens that had no monetary value outside

11000-454: The working class, he improved working conditions for factory workers, which he demonstrated at New Lanark, Scotland, became a leader in trade unionism, promoted social equality through his experimental Utopian communities, and supported the passage of child labour laws and free education for children. In these reforms he was ahead of his time. He envisioned a communal society that others could consider and apply as they wished. In Revolution in

11110-436: The working classes would bring great benefits. So he opposed the views of radicals seeking to change in the public mentality by expanding voting rights. Owen's work at New Lanark continued to have significance in Britain and continental Europe. He was a "pioneer in factory reform, the father of distributive co-operation, and the founder of nursery schools". His schemes for educating his workers included opening an Institute for

11220-460: Was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer , and a founder of utopian socialism and the co-operative movement . He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted experimental socialistic communities, sought a more collective approach to child-rearing, and 'believed in lifelong education, establishing an Institute for the Formation of Character and School for Children that focused less on job skills than on becoming

11330-434: Was almost unknown and illegitimacy extremely rare. Owen's relations with his workers remained excellent and operations at the mill proceeded in a smooth, regular and commercially successful way. Perhaps one of Robert Owen's most memorable ideas was his silent monitor method. Owen was opposed to common corporal punishment; therefore, to have some form of discipline he developed the "silent monitor". In his mills, he would hang

11440-476: Was developed by corporate-led efforts, and it took longer for a renewable energy-focused social enterprise to get established. Similar renewable energy co-ops around Europe have organized in a network. Asian societies have adapted the co-operative model, including some of the most successful in the world. Nevertheless, the crises generated by traditional inequalities and the shareholder model continues to require civil society and entrepreneurial responses, such as

11550-502: Was dissolved in April 1827. Owen's Utopian communities attracted a mix of people, many with the highest aims. They included vagrants, adventurers and other reform-minded enthusiasts. In the words of Owen's son David Dale Owen, they attracted "a heterogeneous collection of Radicals", "enthusiastic devotees to principle", and "honest latitudinarians , and lazy theorists", with "a sprinkling of unprincipled sharpers thrown in". Josiah Warren ,

11660-664: Was founded after 2000. An alternative method of employee-ownership, the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), was developed in the U.S. by Louis Kelso and advocated by Senator Russell Long to be incentivized in the ERISA law of 1974. For example, a large Southeastern US supermarket chain a California manufacturer, and a furniture-maker with earnings of more than $ 2 billion, are employee-owned. Employee-owned trusts have also been developed more or less independently, for example at an established iron pipe company Alice Acland ,

11770-612: Was founded in 1810 with small locals found nationwide by 1866. The first known consumer co-op in 1845 was Boston's Workingman's Protective Union. The country's first organization to promote cooperative values and the Rochdale Principles was the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, known as the Grange that started after the Civil War. The co-operative movement grew during the 1890s in response to

11880-445: Was influenced by Sir Isaac Newton 's views on natural law, and his views resembled those of Plato , Denis Diderot , Claude Adrien Helvétius , William Godwin , John Locke , James Mill , and Jeremy Bentham , among others. Owen did not have the direct influence of Enlightenment philosophers. Owen hoped for a better and more harmonious environment that promoted mutual respect, love and moral values. He believed everyone would have

11990-422: Was installed above each machinist's workplace. The colour of the face showed to all who saw it the quality and quantity of goods the worker completed. The intention was to encourage workers to do their best. Although it was no great incentive in itself, conditions at New Lanark for workers and their families were idyllic for the time. Owen raised the demand for an eight-hour day in 1810 and set about instituting

12100-446: Was the sixth of the family's seven children, two of whom died at a young age. His surviving siblings were William, Anne, John and Richard. Owen received little formal education, but he was an avid reader. He left school at the age of ten to be an apprentice draper in Stamford, Lincolnshire , for four years. He also worked in London drapery shops in his teenage years. At about the age of 18, Owen moved to Manchester , where he spent

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