21 November 2013
Bilbao Campus
As in previous years, the Basque Law Academy, the International Association of Cooperative Law, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, CIRIEC-Spain and the Law Faculty of the University of Deusto held a conference on transmission of cooperative values to young people and intercooperation in twenty first century cooperatives. The event was very well received.
People over capital
Prof. Antonio Fici of the University of Molise in Italy gave the first speech. He highlighted the values promoted by cooperative companies such as mutualism, the prevalence of people over capital and altruism or the contribution cooperatives make to the general interest.
Prof. Fici advocated maintaining these distinctive features of cooperatives that shape their identity and called for a closer more stable connection between legal experts studying coops and the cooperative movement and between legal experts on cooperatives in different countries.
Keeping jobs
The second speech was given by Prof. Monzón, president of CIRIEC-Spain. He briefly described cooperativism at the world and national levels, highlighting that employment in capitalist companies has dropped by 20% since the start of the crisis while coops have only registered an 8.4% decrease given that they often internalise social costs rather than dismiss staff and members.
Prof. Monzón based his argument on this data, stressing the importance of intercooperation to face the challenges of globalisation and also as a necessary means to preserve cooperative values. Lastly, he pointed out how cooperative groups demonstrate intercooperation; they are built through cooperation rather than the hierarchical control systems used in capital companies.
Young people and social economy enterprises
A round table discussion was then held with another two participants. Prof. Baleren Bakaikoa, President of GEZKI, emphasised that young people value social economy enterprises highly although they find it difficult to use the cooperative model when young people have to take the reins of their own businesses.
He pointed out the possibility of students in the last year of study creating junior cooperatives with aid from the Basque Government on the condition that they agree to transform the junior cooperative into an associated work coop when they complete their degrees.
Economic democracy and general participation
Prof. Divar, from the University of Deusto, pointed out the risk of cooperatives becoming locked within their own mutualism. He stated that cooperatives must assume that they are companies with mercantile structures which compete on the same market as the rest of the commercial entities. The value that sets them apart from capital companies is therefore not their mutualism but economic democracy and the general participation of members in the economy through the cooperative.
