A Visit to Mondragon

Posted by collectivist

"In the Fall of 2019, I visited the Mondragon Cooperatives through the Saint Mary’s Masters of Cooperative Management Field Research course taught by Marcelo Vieta. Before I left for the field research trip, I was attracted to the Mondragon Principle “Sovereignty of Labor”. There is so much to say about this worker cooperative operating at such a large scale. I decided to dive more deeply into how the Sovereignty of Labor shows up in multiple aspects of life, work, and systems. I’m really inspired by it!
Following, you’ll find an adapted version of my final academic paper from my experience. In it, you’ll find information including 7 lessons I learned that contribute to the “Sovereignty of Labor” from Mondragon, connections to the United States and my cooperative, and dreams of a cooperative future.
Enjoy this video capturing our trip by my talented co-learner and friend in the Saint Mary’s program, Anne Caraan.
“The cooperative movement needs to have deep roots of solidarity, justice and freedom, in the interest of those who are committed to our base units, such as our work commitments.”
– Arizmendiarrietta

Introduction

Cooperatives build new economies based on human needs rather than profits. The cooperative model is a shift from the extractive nature of corporate globalization. The cooperative difference is simple. A cooperative serves the needs of its members guided by the cooperative principles. In a capitalist economy, it is not easy to center the needs of cooperative members. In the Arraste region (also known as Mondragon), I witnessed a special connection to work and humanizing workers. In this piece, I reflect on the ways that the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (MCC) has created a humanizing support system and prioritizes its workers and cooperatives.

Lesson 1: Workers are the historic heroes, embedded in history and legends. . ."


https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-03-12/a-visit-to-mondragon/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It

Image
Here’s what Russia’s 2020 disinformation operations look like, according to two experts on social media and propaganda. By   DARREN LINVILL   &   PATRICK WARREN Internet trolls don’t troll. Not the professionals at least. Professional trolls don’t go on social media to antagonize liberals or belittle conservatives. They are not narrow minded, drunk or angry. They don’t lack basic English language skills. They certainly aren’t  “somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds,”  as the president once put it. Your stereotypical trolls do exist on social media, but the amateurs aren’t a threat to Western democracy. Professional trolls, on the other hand, are the tip of the spear in the new digital, ideological battleground. To combat the threat they pose, we must first understand them — and take them seriously. MORE: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/ Posted by Jamie B.
Read more

The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term

Image
The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term   (Photo: Photos: Getty Images) Americans will almost certainly go to bed on Nov. 3 without knowing who won the presidential election. Since millions of people will vote by mail, constraints on time and resources will slow ballot counting into potentially a weeks-long process. Voting patterns suggest it’s likely that President  Donald Trump  could end Election Day in the lead in certain key states, only to be overtaken by Democratic opponent  Joe Biden  when more votes are tallied.  This could create a nightmare scenario during the three months stretching from Election Day to the Jan. 20 inauguration: a battle on the state and congressional level over who is the legitimate winner. This could include Congress reconvening on Jan. 6, presided over by Vice President  Mike Pence , with no consensus over its potential role in choosing the next president. This is arguably the most likely of th
Read more

Philosophical Question #14 – Lifestyle Choices

Image
Here is an interesting question in my list of philosophical questions: 1.) Should governments have penalties for those who live unhealthy lifestyles? A list of unhealthy lifestyles would include things like smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, prostitution, and other “vice” type activities. I guess the “government penalties” would be referring to monetary punishments, withholding medical treatments (insurance companies would love that), possibly imposing/regulating very high (exorbitant) prices on things considered unhealthy in order to cut down on their use, and other possibilities. 2.) Or, would you say that living an unhealthy lifestyle, likely resulting in a LOT of eventual personal pain and suffering, should be punishment enough for unhealthy lifestyles? When people make bad choices in life, often in their youth where ignorance and immediate gratification takes them over,  3.) Should a society be obligated to help "fix" them, by way of tax money?   Is that part of
Read more