Economic Justice

Jessica Gordon-Nembhard talks about her research into the history of African-American co-ops.

We continue to explore the relationship between cooperativism and the market and society. Is cooperativism “a practical demonstration of the possibility of an economy without bosses? A convenient mode of distribution of commodities? An economic form that preserves exploitation of workers and fails to overthrow bourgeois political domination? A way to live out the principles and values of Christianity in the economic terrain?”

Mirlo (“black bird” in Spanish) starts from a simple proposal: the music industry does not work for artists or listeners, and it needs a radical reimagining. Two years in, Mirlo hosts a small but growing community of artists, listeners, organizers, and coders who are trying exactly that: taking lessons from mutual aid and militant political organizing and applying them to a platform built cooperatively.

Unfortunately not everybody's experience of cooperatives is positive. For Elle, their time in co-operatives was both transformative, but also painful, marred by classism that often goes unnamed.

The new approach that Razeto proposes here is made up not through federation of cooperative businesses but association of individuals in small groups or base communities. This is his movement-building perspective: cooperative organizing from the grassroots, with a clear distinction drawn between representational and operational functions.

On the southern shore of Lake Maracaibo, Palmarito is an Afro-Venezuelan community shaped by centuries of history, culture, and resilience. Its people carry forward traditions rooted in their African heritage and in the fishing trade. Central to Palmarito’s way of life is the socialist commune, a form of popular self-government that transforms everyday life and work into a shared project.

Four videos celebrating the life and works of this year's Cooperative Hall of Fame inductees.

The surging demand for mental health services since the start of the pandemic has drawn attention to the issue of therapist burnout. Rhizome Therapy Cooperative has a solution.

The music industry doesn’t have to be exploitative. What if artists owned the platforms we depend on? What if musicians shared resources, power, and profits—together?

At the conclusion of the 5th Midwest Regional Rendezvous of worker cooperators, the participants unanimously ratified two declarations in solidarity with immigrants and people facing housing insecurity.