The market and the State have been presented as the solutions for social inequality, climate change and authoritarianism, but the results are contrary to those good intentions. The first cooperatives emerged in urban England in opposition to industrial capitalism, in Germany in opposition to usury in the rural area, and in Canada in defense of their cultures and agriculture. But over time, most cooperatives were co-opted and subsumed by colonial and patriarchal capitalism. Based on experiences in Central America, this book shows how to reinvent cooperatives through which peasants and indigenous peoples can reduce social inequality, mitigate climate change and democratize our societies.
