{"id":4352,"date":"2017-02-23T09:39:39","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T08:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/?p=4352"},"modified":"2017-02-23T09:40:43","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T08:40:43","slug":"cooperatives-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/electoral-research\/cooperatives-history","title":{"rendered":"History of Cooperatives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here you can read all about the history of cooperatives, why they became a common business practice and some of the interesting stories behind their development in the 19th and 20th centuries. Read on to learn more!<\/p>\n

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History of Cooperatives: the early years<\/h4>\n

Cooperatives<\/a> are best understood as groups of people who have the same needs. These needs include\u00a0insurance, money lending and saving, achieving economies of scale or marketing goods.<\/p>\n

Early cooperatives were groups created in times of difficulty where people needed to band\u00a0together to survive, especially regarding the need to help one another in difficult rural conditions.<\/p>\n

The first recognized<\/em> cooperative business is the “Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire”. It was established in 1752 and, interestingly, Benjamin Franklin was one of its founders and it is still in operation today. Early cooperatives simply agreed to split the cost of fire damage that any of the members suffered, with the knowledge that their fellows would do the same for them in return.<\/p>\n

It was modeled on the Amicable Contributionship of London which similarly offered to mutually split the costs of damages amongst its members.<\/p>\n

The Rochdale Principles<\/h4>\n

Perhaps the most important Cooperative was the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in the UK. It was founded in 1844 and laid the groundwork for modern cooperative businesses with their “Rochdale Principles”. The Rochdale Principles set out a series of ideals that other cooperatives could emulate:<\/p>\n