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The International Co-Operative Alliance and the Consumer Co-Operative Movement in Northern Europe, c. 1860-1939

Mary Hilson author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Manchester University Press

Published:10th Apr '18

Should be back in stock very soon

The International Co-Operative Alliance and the Consumer Co-Operative Movement in Northern Europe, c. 1860-1939 cover

The book examines the history of co-operation in the broad context of the history of consumerism and consumption; of internationalism and the development of international organisations; and debates about international trade during the inter-war period. The fundamental question explored in the book concerns the meaning of co-operation. Was it a social movement or an economic enterprise? Did it aspire to challenge capitalism or to reform it? Did it contain at its heart a political vision for the transformation of society or was it simply a practical guide for organising a business? Hilson argues that it was both, but that an examination of the debates over the different meanings of co-operation can also illuminate broader questions about the emergence of consumer interests in the first half of the twentieth century, especially in a transnational context.

‘The study convincingly situates the co-operative movements of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and – although less extensively – Norway in the various politics and practices of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).’
Frederik Forrai Ørskov, University of Helsinki, Finland, Scandinavian Journal of History, 2019

ISBN: 9781526100801

Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 13mm

Weight: 472g

208 pages