Co-operation in a Capitalist Economy This course has taken us through the history and development of the co-operative economic structure, looking in depth at the co-operative movements’ roots and the formation of its laws. Examples such as the Mondragón Corporation and the co-operative movement in Italy were provided, to allow for a better understanding of how this system has evolved and its existence in modern society today. As this semester comes to a close, I wanted to take a closer look at co-ops here in the United States that are undergoing the trials and tribulations that result from being a co-operative organization within a capitalist economy. To do so, I first began by researching the development of the co-operative movement in the United States, more specifically, the pivotal role of agricultural co-operatives in stimulating the US economy; this led me to CHS Inc., the top performing co-operative in the US and the 10th best performing in the world (Co-operative News). Co-operatives such as CHS Inc. have been vital to maintaining stability within the US marketplace and providing an alternative to the capitalist structure that exists currently. Agricultural co-operatives, especially, significantly uplifted local economic development throughout most of the twentieth century. Over four million farms had closed down, including a large number of family run farms, and rural communities experienced a sharp rise in unemployment. Local businesses were forced to close and citizens began to migrate outward. This downward spiral resulted in an urgent need “to find ways of adding value to what the farmers produce, and recycling that value back to the farmers on their rural communities” (Birchall 201).
The implementation of agricultural co-operatives, such as CHS Inc., soon became an integral component in the country’s rural development strategy. These co-operative