Revolutionaries have often had an uneasy time relating to cooperatives. Some have been far more enthusiastic than others, with much depending on the strength and health of the relative movements. The early 1920s saw an effervescence of worker’s cooperatives raising questions; who and should they be organized; what role do they play in the class struggle; were the admissions of defeat in creating a new society, or harbingers of that new society?

‘The Cooperative Movement and Communism’ by A. Henriet from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 2 No. 80. September 19, 1922.

Socialists and revolutionary Communists have long disdained the cooperative efforts because they issued from a purely bourgeois mentality, and this in spite of the efforts of a small number of militant comrades who realized the value of the Cooperatives in the process of social transformation.

The Russian Revolution was needed to show the usefulness of the Cooperative in the Transition period from Capitalism to Communism.

The practical application of Communist theories is no easy matter. It meets immense obstacles in the numerous economic organizations resultant from Capitalism.

Just as the dictatorship (even in the hands of the proletariat) does not constitute an ideal from of government, but a necessity which every revolutionist must accept, so must certain parts of the industrial organism pass through an intermediary stage before they are ready for socialization.

It is easy to see how the railroads, the banks, insurance, navigation, large estates, industrial trusts, etc. may be socialized. It is more difficult to show how socialization of the exchange and distribution of products will take place, or the exploitation of the small farms, or the function of trade unions.

The complexity of human relations, acquired habits and mentality, necessitate a special form of organization, which will be a bond between the present Capitalism and the future Communism.

The intermediary step is Cooperation.

Whatever the laws of any country, the Cooperatives may be formed as commercial organizations within the capitalist world. They will make use of capital, but not to create profits. On the contrary, they wish to destroy the unearned profits of capital. The cooperatives make use of capital, but do not serve it. They reduce its revenue to a single capital rent.

The Cooperatives also tend to coordinate production and consumption, whenever useful and profitable, and thereby to destroy the capitalist regime working for profits.

Of course the Cooperatives do not meet all needs as was claimed by the reformistic cooperators who wished to moderate or destroy their revolutionary activity. The work of the Cooperatives is limited when compared with that of the capitalist trusts or of the state monopolies. It would be ridiculous to propose cooperation in the railroad organization where socialization is the natural next step. The task of the Cooperatives is to concentrate those economic functions which are not yet bound in a trust and which cannot be socialized because of their dispersion and of the individualist mentality of their owners.

Such organizations may be socialized only progressively, if one is to escape dangerous reactions which would furnish weapons to the enemies of the proletariat. In this respect, the experience of Soviet Russia with the cooperative system is very interesting.

However, in spite of its advantages over the economic independence which characterizes the great mass of the Russian population, we should not forget its possible detriments if the Cooperative does not pursue strict Communist purposes. For then it may become the strongest support of the petty bourgeois class and a weapon against the proletariat.

For instance, the Consumers’ Cooperatives as they are organized in most countries are purely individualistic in tendency; the organization exists only to insure the greatest possible profits to its members. The capitalization of these Cooperatives is purely individualistic. Bonds and stocks are issued, or the members deposit certain sums which they may withdraw at will. The employees’ wages, even if higher than in most capitalist enterprises, is nevertheless based on capitalistic principles. Briefly, such a Cooperative does not help to create the mentality necessary to Communism; it exists purely for the economic advantages of its members.

The same applies to Producers’ Cooperatives. If at times, the equality of wages is accepted, they still work on the principle of exploitation of the buyer, just as capitalist companies. We could give thousands of examples to prove the avidity for gain of these Cooperatives. The results of a century of cooperative experience have brought us to formulate the rules of Communist Cooperatives, or rather of Transitory Cooperatives. These rules must tend to supplant the collective for the individualist mentality. The Communists must oppose the individual appropriation of the profits realized by the Association. These profits must be used to develop the organization and to prevent the creation of private capital. All salaries in the Cooperative must be as equal as possible.

These few measures, which seem self-apparent are not always accepted by our Comrades. To us they seem to be absolutely necessary if the Cooperatives are to serve our end and not become an enemy of the Communist cause.

Further, the system of collaboration of the classes within the Cooperatives where all consumers, rich and poor, are admitted on an equal footing, this economic democracy constitutes the same danger as “Parliamentary Democracy”,–it distracts  the attention of the workers from their true task. This collaboration of classes results in the political neutrality of the movement, which in a capitalist society always results in the cooperation with the employing class.

The question is important enough to draw the attention of all those who are interested in the economic progress of the world, for the Cooperatives are called to play an important role in the formation of a future society. These are new problems for the Communists, but they must be solved rapidly and on the basis of accepted principles.

It will rest with the Conference of the Cooperatives which will precede that of the Comintern to decide this question.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly. Inprecorr is an invaluable English-language source on the history of the Communist International and its sections.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1922/v02n080-sep-19-1922-Inprecor.pdf