European cooperations in transition — the metamorphosis of homo cooperativus

Abstract

It is suggested that the signs of the specificity of cooperative organizations are to be found in the mentality, ideality and morality of homo cooperativus. This specificity is undergoing a fundamental metamorphosis due to new environmental challenges emerging from the currently prevailing technological form of capitalism. In this new situation the homo cooperativus has to redefine his logic of action in order to cope with the necessity of accumulating financial, intellectual and political capital. Empirical findings in the U.K. and France suggest that this process of accumulation appears to be showing signs of an emergence of a new generation of homo cooperativus. The theoretical implications of the findings and the future of cooperatives as specific forms of economic organizations are presented and discussed.