Praxis Peace Institute (my Sonoma, CA non-profit organization) brought a group of 25 people for a 5-day seminar and tour of the Mondragón Cooperatives in the Basque region of Spain, September 13-18, 2010.
There was a popular phrase among some politicians a few years back that proclaimed, "there is no alternative" (TINA) to the status quo of neoliberal capitalism. After spending one week at the educational center of the Mondragón Cooperatives in the Basque Country of Spain, it is crystal clear: There is an alternative! And, the Basques have proven it with their model of worker-owned businesses that has flourished over the past 55 years.
So, what are the Mondragón Cooperatives? And, what is so unique about them?
Founded by a Basque Catholic priest in the 1950s, they began with one small worker-owned cooperative that made parts for washing machines. Today, with 120 businesses and nearly 100,000 workers, the Mondragón Cooperatives comprise the largest consortium of worker-owned businesses in the world. In 2007, the Mondragón Cooperatives had sales of 24 billion Euros. In 2009, when twenty-five percent of all businesses in Spain failed, less than one percent of businesses failed in the Mondragón Cooperatives. What's their secret?
Based on a philosophy of human values, respect, and equality, the cooperatives are an inspiration in demonstrating what an evolved business environment looks like. The mission of the Mondragón Cooperatives Corporation (MCC) is to create wealth within society, to foster a people society instead of a capital society, to honor work with dignity, and to limit the number of work hours. Mikel Lezamiz, educational director at MCC, says, "People are the core, not capital. This is the main point. If capital has the power, then labor is simply its tool."
Producing everything from computer chips and bicycles to washing machines and auto parts, the Mondragón Cooperative businesses produce a wide range of products and services. In fact, we learned that 25% of the products that will be produced in 2014, are not yet in production. The continual search for new products reflects their flexibility in dealing with changing times and their commitment to innovation and job creation, which are stated goals.
For entrepreneurs, the Mondragón Cooperatives include an incubation center for new products and services where they help develop and fund new projects. The MCC includes thirteen Research and Development centers (the largest R&D center in all of Europe) and its own cooperatively owned bank, Caja Laboral, with 394 branches throughout Spain. The MCC has its own social services program, which provides pensions, unemployment insurance, and medical coverage. This is in addition to those services already offered by the Spanish government!
Instruction in conflict resolution is also an integral part of MCC. When someone in our seminar asked what they would do with a worker who was inattentive or goofing off on the job, our instructor didn't hesitate a moment. "We don't believe in confrontation," he said. "We would initiate a dialogue in order to find out what is causing the problem." The focus at MCC is not punishment for bad work but interest in the individual having the problem.
Their approach of caring for the individual first is what makes Mondragón exemplary in people relations.
The Mondragón hybrid moves beyond labels like capitalist and socialist and avoids both terms in describing their cooperative model. Instead, they appear to take some of the best ideas in both systems, adding their own philosophy and values into the mix. The result is innovation and social responsibility, a constant striving for improvement and always protecting the worker-owner.
The average CEO of an MCC corporation receives six times the salary of the lowest paid worker, a far cry from U.S. corporate CEO salaries, which might exceed 300 times the lowest paid worker. To become a worker member, one must apply for an open job and invest 14,000 euros in their company. This sum can be borrowed from Caja Laboral at 1% interest over 10 years. The democratic process means one worker-owner equals one vote. There are no stocks.
With a population of about 23,000 inhabitants, the town of Mondragón is solidly middle class. There are neither mansions on the hill nor poverty in the streets. The one mansion that exists in the area is a 14th century estate that was renovated to become MCC's educational center. The many acres that surround this estate are now small farms amidst green rolling hills. The families or coops that work the land have them rent free. "They are maintaining the land," Mikel said. "For that, they pay no rent." It is viewed as an even exchange.
The American myth says we can have it all, but in Mondragón that seemed provincially (or arrogantly) naïve. Why should we even want it all? The countries and communities that value social connection, social services, and an eradication of poverty consistently appear at the top of the happiness index. The Basque region has the highest standard of living and the lowest unemployment rate in Spain and it also has the largest number of people involved in worker-owned businesses. Many participants at the Praxis seminar in Mondragón had their worldviews turned upside down in a most inspiring and hopeful manner. There is an alternative!
See my fellow Americans. See what is possible, even in Our Troubled Land? Like I have said, We doont have to destroy Capitalism, just make it More and Better.
I also thank the "Praxis Peace Institute" (my Sonoma, CA non-profit organization) for their journey for Truth and this report. DAN 1
Those individuals who have amassed great wealth and power in today's America, will hardly be inclined to lower their standards to achieve this type of innovation. They'll just label it socialism and turn the general populace against the very concept. Biased media outlets will see to that.
One of the problems with extreme disparity of wealth is that those with power and influence, gain more. Those without, lose what little they had.
With our political system based on the reality that whichever candidate spends the most to get elected, will be......... (94% of the time in the last election cycle), then money begets money, and any attempt to change that system will be quashed by those that have prospered so much by the way things are now. They will fight to keep what they got, and they have the financial means to win.
The Basques relate more like a family. American business is more like war. The last man standing wins it all. I just wonder if what's left will be worth having.
Kelly has written a powerful introduction to this game-changing alternative to "pick your poison."
Unfortunately our culture will not accept anything even remotely similar to this any time soon.
We're just beginning to get around to the idea that investing in worker happiness can be good for business.
Furthermore without support of at least some elites, no revolution goes anywhere.
Who are the big business voices in America advocating anything remotely like this?
in time and only made possible by the abundance of natural resources found on the newly exploited American Continent and finite reserves of OIL that gave a short term boost to the world economy.
Financial wealth is just one facet of the development of humanity ( i presume that you agree that enterprise should lead to human development, happiness and peace )
America today will one day be seen for what it is . a sick and insane society ,right up there with Soviet communism as monumental failures to human development.
All human activity should lead to human happiness and development , not the accumulation of wealth by a few unhappy and clinically insane persons while the majority suffer or pine away while their human potential is wasted.
Unbelievable. Comparing prosperity and freedom with absolute restriction on freedom via coercion and privation is the height of ignorance. The fact that you can write such nonsense and perhaps belive it is laughable.
I suggest you read a bit more on the long sweep of history you allude to.
We see a never-ending stream of good solid liberal economists writing articles here but they don't seem willing to provide a real vision of how our economy and our democracy could function. All of them talk about "creating jobs" or "stimulus programs" or "unemployment benefit extensions" or "campaign finance laws" but none of them seems willing to call for the changes we really need.
All of the classic "safety net" programs, while necessary in today's climate, are mere band-aids on the cancer of capitalism. These liberals are merely addressing the symptoms of the disease. It is the economic system itself, i.e. some perverted form of capitalism, that is the problem. Even if we come out of the current depression, we are still stuck with a system that corrupts our democracy in pursuit of profits. We are still stuck with a system where workers and even entire communities can be devastated when companies move overseas just to make a buck.
Socialism is too often painted as a tyrannical system where government bureaucrats have excessive control over our lives. In truth, socialism is an economic system that empowers people, often workers, to have more control over their lives and their society.