The Mondragon Cooperatives

A lot of writers that I have cited or linked to here have deep criticisms of capitalism, which should raise questions about what might replace it. I think this is a topic that should be far more debated than it is today, because it deals with possible answers on how life might be better if organised in a different way.

The worker cooperative 'business model' is one promising practical example of how people might reclaim their democracy in the work place and become an empowered community; and Mondragon in Spain is one of the places which can show us how it's done.

So to approach economic democracy in a practical way, I thought I might link to a documentary and a speech on the Mondragon Cooperatives, which are one of the largest federations of cooperatives in the world. Learning about their integrative system is seriously inspiring because it works so beautifully. It is a group of democratically governed businesses helping each other to get ahead. They take care of the creation of new coops in the neighborhood through coop banks using refined development strategies. If they run a profit, the workers generally share 70% amongst themselves as dividend because the workers ARE the shareholders. 20% goes into reinvestment, necessary for productive capital, and 10% goes into community services, from a research university to medical care and cultural activities. Empowered by this well-designed system, these people are in a constant process of figuring out how to live democracy in their daily lives.
The coops coordinate to ensure no member worker goes unemployed for long. If some do, they are guaranteed 80% of their original wage under the coops' social security funds. The system has been so successful that from its quiet birth in 1955 under the Franco fascist regime, it has grown into a network providing more than 100.000 jobs and countless services in the Basque country. After seeing this, who can claim capitalism is the only possibility?

Mondragon Website in English

"The Mondragon Experiment" is a BBC documentary produced in the 70s, which documents the founding and rise of the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation. Tracing its birth back to the time of the Civil War in Spain and its remarkable success since then, combined with an analysis of the actual structure of the company, The Mondragon Experiment makes a strong case for industrial democracy as an alternative to the present economic order.



Praxis Peace Institute Founding Director, Georgia Kelly discusses the unique collaborative business model of the Mondragon Cooperatives located in the Basque country of Spain. This presentation will cover the ethics and vision of Mondragón as well as unique success stories that are an inspiration to those seeking alternatives to business-as-usual. The goal of the Mondragón Cooperatives is to create community through economic relationships and to transform society through conscious economic practices. (Video a little bad, sound is no problem though)



Books on the Mondragon Cooperatives