The solutions to the problems created by the Great Recession aren't working. A just economy is not a service economy that keeps workers contingent, with stagnating wages, and without benefits while concentrating wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer CEOs and shareholders.
Working for a more just economy is not an optional charity project: it is at the heart of many faith traditions. But even faith itself can be distorted as the hallmarks of our current economic system find their way into our faith communities and theology. There are biblical traditions that counter these distortions and point toward a cooperative, bottom-up alternative.
People have been actively creating cooperative and solidarity economies all over the world for thousands of years. The paradigm is built on values of cooperation, democracy, equality, solidarity, equity, justice, openness, honesty, inclusion, social responsibility and caring for others and the environment.
Our current economic system is broken. Worker cooperatives, businesses owned and controlled by the people who work there, are a concrete vision of what a more just society can look like. Social ventures, like cooperatives, bring a triple bottom line to current business structures: a focus on people, planet, and profit.
Labor unions are some of the few organizations that support workers and their rights in the workplace. Union members work together to negotiate and enforce a contract with management that guarantees decent raises, affordable health care, workplace safety, job security and a stable schedule.
Transforming Churches & Communities: Cooperative developments in a
world of growing inequality
Collaborative Inquiry Team Project
Image Design by Lauren Rolwing @ https://www.laurenrolwing.com
Resources
We believe that worker cooperatives can be an approach to build power for economic structural change for churches and for the community at large.
Join us in exploring this concept by diving deeper into the resources we have collected below.
Map Yourself
This toolkit aims to connect individuals, faith spaces, and businesses seeking to implement cooperative economics into their communities. We think a big part of this work is showing each other who we are and where we call home. If you're interested in being a part of our cooperative map, please add yourself below.