By
ALI HOSSEIN SHAHRIVAR
Shahrivar44@yahoo.com
For more than 150 years the co-operatives have operated across the world. Based on their vast experience, they continue to develop in most sectors, such as consumer, banking, agriculture and service provision, not to mention sport and culture. They remain an economic and social reality wherever they operate. Far from having passed their “sell-by” date, they are responding to market needs and demands. Moreover, they are also meeting; the new and unsatisfied needs of the people. And this is their strong point.
It is often said that cooperation is strong in practice but weak in theory. Although not quite true, it is a fact that cooperation has been little researched, has weak links with mainstream economics and, partly for these reasons, the theory and practice remains surprisingly unfamiliar. [1] The intention of this article is to correct the situation by reviewing
a) The ideas behind cooperative entrepreneurship and company form, and
b) The present role of cooperation in the organisation of economic activities.