REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION-GRADUATE STUDIES

DEM 747 SEMINAR IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN COOPERATIVE

EDUCATION

HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND PERSPECTIVES OF COOPERATIVISM

JOHN REY O. DEPONE

AUGUST 15, 2021
 LEARNING OUTCOMES:

LO1: COMPARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF

GUILDS WHICH PLAYED DOMINANT ROLES IN MEDIEVAL
SOCIETIES

LO2: DESCRIBE THE SIGNIFICANT SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES

AND PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING THE
18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES
 TOPICS:

T1: THE GUILDS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD AS PRECURSORS OF

COOPERATIVES

T2: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF VARIOUS FORMS OF

WORKERS UPRISINGS, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND COOPERATIVES IN
RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM FACTORY SYSTEM AND
PROFIT MAXIMIZATION

T3: THE COOPERATIVES AND ADULT EDUCATION/TRAINING FOR THE

T1: THE GUILDS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD AS
PRECURSORS OF COOPERATIVES

LO1: COMPARE THE FUNCTIONS OF

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GUILDS
WHICH PLAYED DOMINANT ROLES IN
MEDIEVAL SOCIETIES
 GUILDS
• ASSOCIATIONS OF CRAFTSMEN AND MERCHANTS FORMED TO PROMOTE THE
ECONOMIC INTERESTS OF THEIR MEMBERS AS WELL AS TO PROVIDE
PROTECTION AND MUTUAL AID.

• CLASSIFIED INTO TWO TYPES:

1. CRAFT GUILDS- MADE UP OF CRAFTSMEN AND ARTISANS IN THE SAME
OCCUPATION (SUCH AS HATTERS, CARPENTERS, BAKERS, BLACKSMITHS,
WEAVERS AND MASONS)
2. MERCHANT GUILDS- INCLUDED MOST OR ALL OF THE MERCHANTS IN A
TOWN OR CITY AND WERE INVOLVED IN REGIONAL AND LONG DISTANCE
TRADE.
 THE DECLINE OF GUILDS AND AFTER

•THE DECLINE OF GUILDS AFTER

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY TOOK
PLACE FOR BOTH ECONOMIC AND
RELIGIOUS REASONS.
T2: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE RISE
OF VARIOUS FORMS OF WORKERS UPRISINGS,
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND COOPERATIVES IN
RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM
FACTORY SYSTEM AND PROFIT MAXIMIZATION

LO2: DESCRIBE THE SIGNIFICANT SOCIO-

ECONOMIC CHANGES AND PEOPLE’S
MOVEMENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING
THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, IN MODERN HISTORY,
THE PROCESS OF CHANGE FROM AN AGRARIAN
AND HANDICRAFT ECONOMY TO ONE DOMINATED
BY INDUSTRY AND MACHINE MANUFACTURING.
 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES
(1) THE USE OF NEW BASIC MATERIALS, CHIEFLY IRON AND STEEL,
(2) THE USE OF NEW ENERGY SOURCES, INCLUDING BOTH FUELS AND MOTIVE POWER,
SUCH AS COAL, THE STEAM ENGINE, ELECTRICITY, PETROLEUM, AND THE INTERNAL-
COMBUSTION ENGINE,
(3) THE INVENTION OF NEW MACHINES, SUCH AS THE SPINNING JENNY AND THE POWER
LOOM THAT PERMITTED INCREASED PRODUCTION WITH A SMALLER EXPENDITURE OF
HUMAN ENERGY,
(4) A NEW ORGANIZATION OF WORK KNOWN AS THE FACTORY SYSTEM, WHICH
ENTAILED INCREASED DIVISION OF LABOUR AND SPECIALIZATION OF FUNCTION,
(5) IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION,
INCLUDING THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE, STEAMSHIP, AUTOMOBILE, AIRPLANE,
TELEGRAPH, AND RADIO, AND
(6) THE INCREASING APPLICATION OF SCIENCE TO INDUSTRY.
 PEOPLES’ RESPONSES

• WORKERS JOINED TOGETHER IN VOLUNTARY LABOR

ASSOCIATIONS CALLED UNIONS.

PURPOSES:
1. TO PRESERVE THEIR OWN WORKERS’ POSITION BY
LIMITING ENTRY INTO THEIR TRADE; AND
2. TO GAIN BENEFITS FROM THE EMPLOYERS.
 STRIKES

• HAND-LOOM WEAVERS IN GLASGOW IN 1813,

• COTTON SPINNERS IN MANCHESTER IN 1818,
• MINERS IN NORTHUMBERLAND AND
DURHAM IN 1810.
• OWEN CAME TO BELIEVE IN THE CREATION OF
VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS THAT WOULD DEMONSTRATE
TO OTHERS THE BENEFITS OF COOPERATIVE RATHER
THAN COMPETITIVE LIVING

• UNDER OWEN’S DIRECTION, PLANS EMERGED FOR A

GRAND NATIONAL CONSOLIDATED TRADES UNION,
WHICH WAS FORMED IN FEBRUARY 1834. AS A NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS, ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE
WAS TO COORDINATE A GENERAL STRIKE FOR THE EIGHT-
HOUR WORKING DAY.
• OWEN PARTICIPATED IN SEVERAL EXPERIMENTS THAT HE HOPED
WOULD IMPROVE WORKERS' LIVES. IN 1806, FOR EXAMPLE, HE
CONTINUED TO PAY WORKERS' WAGES EVEN WHILE HIS FACTORY
WAS CLOSED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AS A RESULT OF A BAN ON
COTTON EXPORTS TO ENGLAND IMPOSED BY THE UNITED STATES.
HE IMPROVED THE HOUSING PROVIDED TO HIS WORKERS, AND HE
ACTIVELY WORKED TO COMBAT ALCOHOLISM AND SPOUSAL ABUSE
AMONG HIS EMPLOYEES. IN 1816 OWEN ESTABLISHED THE
INSTITUTE FOR THE FORMATION OF CHARACTER, WHICH PROVIDED
DAYTIME SCHOOLING FOR CHILDREN FROM AGE TWO TO TEN, AND
OFFERED CLASSES AT NIGHT FOR OLDER CHILDREN AND FOR
ADULTS.
• OWEN MADE HIS FORTUNE IN THE COTTON TRADE BUT BELIEVED
IN PUTTING HIS WORKERS IN A GOOD ENVIRONMENT WITH ACCESS
TO EDUCATION FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR CHILDREN. THESE
IDEAS WERE PUT INTO EFFECT SUCCESSFULLY IN THE COTTON
MILLS OF NEW LANARK, SCOTLAND. IT WAS HERE THAT THE FIRST
CO-OPERATIVE STORE WAS OPENED. SPURRED ON BY THE SUCCESS
OF THIS, HE HAD THE IDEA OF FORMING "VILLAGES OF CO-
OPERATION" WHERE WORKERS WOULD DRAG THEMSELVES OUT OF
POVERTY BY GROWING THEIR OWN FOOD, MAKING THEIR OWN
CLOTHES AND ULTIMATELY BECOMING SELF-GOVERNING. HE TRIED
TO FORM SUCH COMMUNITIES IN ORBISTON IN SCOTLAND AND IN
NEW HARMONY, INDIANA IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BUT
BOTH COMMUNITIES FAILED.
• DR WILLIAM KING MADE OWEN'S IDEAS MORE
WORKABLE AND PRACTICAL. HE BELIEVED IN STARTING
SMALL AND REALIZED THAT THE WORKING CLASSES
WOULD NEED TO SET UP CO-OPERATIVES FOR
THEMSELVES, SO HE SAW HIS ROLE AS ONE OF
INSTRUCTION. HE FOUNDED A MONTHLY PERIODICAL
CALLED THE CO-OPERATOR, THE FIRST EDITION OF
WHICH APPEARED ON 1 MAY 1828. THIS GAVE A MIXTURE
OF CO-OPERATIVE PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICAL ADVICE
ABOUT RUNNING A SHOP USING COOPERATIVE
PRINCIPLES.
• THE LUDDITES WERE SKILLED CRAFTSPEOPLE IN THE MIDLANDS
AND NORTHERN ENGLAND WHO IN 1812 ATTACKED THE MACHINES
THAT THEY BELIEVED THREATENED THEIR LIVELIHOODS.
• CHARTISM MOVEMENT- IT WAS THE FIRST “IMPORTANT POLITICAL
MOVEMENT OF WORKING MEN ORGANIZED DURING THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY.” ITS AIM WAS TO ACHIEVE POLITICAL
DEMOCRACY. A PEOPLE’S CHARTER DRAWN UP IN 1838 DEMANDED
UNIVERSAL MALE SUFFRAGE, PAYMENT FOR MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT, AND ANNUAL SESSIONS OF PARLIAMENT
• WORKER COOPERATIVES WERE ORIGINALLY
SPARKED BY "CRITICAL REACTION TO
INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM AND THE EXCESSES OF
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION." SOME WORKER
COOPERATIVES WERE DESIGNED TO "COPE WITH
THE EVILS OF UNBRIDLED CAPITALISM AND THE
INSECURITIES OF WAGE LABOR".
• ROCHDALE “PIONEERS.” THE COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP'S
FOUNDING MEMBERSHIP WAS SIGNIFICANT, A MIX OF CHARTISTS,
OWENITES, AND TRADE UNIONISTS. THE ROCHDALE SOCIETY OPTED
FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF DISTRIBUTING ITS SURPLUSES TO ITS
MEMBERS THROUGH A DIVIDEND, DEMOCRATICALLY ARRIVED AT.
THIS STRATEGY NOT ONLY PROVED ESSENTIAL TO THE SOCIETY'S
LOCAL SUCCESS, BUT IT ALSO PROVIDED A HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL
MODEL OF IDEAL COOPERATIVE PRACTICE.

• THE ROCHDALE SOCIETY OF EQUITABLE PIONEERS WAS ESTABLISHED

IN 1844 AND DEFINED THE MODERN COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT
• THE ROCHDALE PIONEERS ESTABLISHED THE
‘ROCHDALE PRINCIPLES’ ON WHICH THEY RAN
THEIR COOPERATIVE. THIS BECAME THE BASIS
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF THE
MODERN COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT. AS THE
MECHANIZATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION WAS FORCING MORE AND MORE
SKILLED WORKERS INTO POVERTY, THESE
TRADESMEN DECIDED TO BAND TOGETHER TO
OPEN THEIR OWN STORE SELLING FOOD ITEMS
 T3: THE COOPERATIVES AND ADULT
EDUCATION/TRAINING FOR THE LABOURING
SECTORS IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES

LO2: DESCRIBE THE SIGNIFICANT SOCIO-

ECONOMIC CHANGES AND PEOPLE’S
MOVEMENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING
THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES.
  EARLY ADULT SCHOOLS:
• RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND THE SPREAD OF LITERACY
• GROWING INTEREST IN INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, A
HEIGHTENING DEMAND FOR PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND PRACTICAL TRAINING
• HIGHER LEVEL CALLS FOR SOCIAL REFORM AND POLITICAL EMANCIPATION (“ESSAY
ON THE FORMATION OF HUMAN CHARACTER”, OWEN)
OWEN OBSERVES THAT
“[A]NY GENERAL CHARACTER, FROM THE BEST TO THE WORST, FROM THE MOST
IGNORANT TO THE MOST ENLIGHTENED, MAY BE GIVEN TO ANY COMMUNITY, EVEN TO
THE WORLD AT LARGE, BY THE APPLICATION OF PROPER MEANS; WHICH MEANS ARE TO
A GREAT EXTENT AT THE COMMAND AND UNDER THE CONTROL OF THOSE WHO HAVE
INFLUENCE IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN.” (1814)
• THE INFLUENTIAL ROCHDALE MODEL EXPRESSLY ADOPTED
EDUCATION AMONG ITS PRINCIPLES:
“INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE MEMBERS”
-A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FUND BE FORMED FOR THE
INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY,
AND SUCH PORTION OF THEIR FAMILIES THAT ARE IN THEIR CARE, BY
THE MAINTENANCE OF THE LIBRARY ALREADY ESTABLISHED AND
PROVIDING SUCH MEANS OF INSTRUCTION AS MAY BE CONSIDERED
DESIRABLE. THE FUND FOR THIS PURPOSE TO BE FORMED BY A
DEDUCTION AFTER THE RATE OF 2½ PER CENT PER ANNUM ON THE
PROFITS, AND THE ACCUMULATION OF ALL FINES LEVIED FOR
INFRACTION OF THESE RULES. THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS FUND TO
BE VESTED IN A COMMITTEE OF ELEVEN MEMBERS APPOINTED FOR
• LOCAL COOPERATIVES WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN
IMPLEMENTING THE BROADER COOPERATION AGENDA,
AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, MAKING PROVISION FOR THE
EDUCATION OF ITS MEMBERS. INDEED THE COOPERATIVE
MOVEMENT, THROUGH THE WORK OF ITS LOCAL
SOCIETIES, JOINED WITH OTHER FORMS OF
ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS TO PROMOTE
WORKING-CLASS EDUCATION UP TO AND FOLLOWING THE
YEAR 1900.
 REFERENCES
ONLINE MATERIALS RETRIEVED FROM…
• HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/WORKER_COOPERATIVE
• HTTPS://
WWW.CAMBRIDGE.ORG/CORE/JOURNALS/INTERNATIONAL-LABOR-AND-WORKING-CLA
SS-HISTORY/ARTICLE/COOPERATIVE-MOVEMENT-AND-THE-EDUCATION-OF-WORKING-M
EN-AND-WOMEN-PROVISION-BY-A-LOCAL-SOCIETY-IN-LINCOLN-ENGLAND-18611914/347
77E1340F334A334A59F1CD001BB9B
• HTTPS://
WWW.ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM/HISTORY/ENCYCLOPEDIAS-ALMANACS-TRANSCRIPTS-AND-
MAPS/SOCIAL-AND-POLITICAL-IMPACT-FIRST-PHASE-INDUSTRIAL-REVOLUTION
• HTTPS://WWW.HISTORY.COM/NEWS/INDUSTRIAL-REVOLUTION-LUDDITES-WORKERS
• HTTPS://WWW.LCPS.ORG/CMS/LIB4/VA01000195/CENTRICITY/DOMAIN/10599/SOCIAL
%20EFFECTS%20OF%20THE%20INDUSTRIAL%20REVOLUTION.PDF