"This may seem like a rather fanciful time to argue that cooperation is a realistic solution to life’s problems. There are spiraling rivalries both within and between nations, not to mention that much of our life is structured as a ruthless winner-take-all competition. But in his new book Cooperation: A Political, Economic, and Social Theory, legal scholar and critical theorist Bernard Harcourt sets out to make precisely that case. According to him, a new cooperative paradigm imbued with the core values of participation, equity, and sustainability is not only desirable, but also eminently realizable.
"Harcourt’s analysis rests on a few interlocking propositions. First, that the competitive models of politics, society, and economy that we live with today are antiquated. They were developed when the world was less interdependent and therefore less in need of radical transformation to avert imminent catastrophes. Second, that instead of breaking with these models, we have become stagnant in our thinking, locked in a pointless tug-of-war between a social democratic state-based model and a conservative market-based model.
"The third point, to which the bulk of the book is dedicated, is a positive argument that cooperation can break this stalemate without needing a massive revolution. That’s because cooperation is something that we do all the time, and not only in our personal lives. As Harcourt points out at great length, different forms of cooperative enterprises—from international mutual insurance companies to flour makers in Vermont to behemoth cooperations in Catalonia—are already flourishing, and they have a proven track record of delivering quality goods and services in a way that respects both workers and the environment." - Avram Alpert
Book Review: Cooperative Ideals at the Heart of Everything: On Bernard Harcourt’s “Cooperation”
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