f individuals to economize by buying in common, or increase
their profits by selling in common. In its widest usage it means the
creed that life may best be ordered not by the competition of
individuals, where each seeks the interest of himself and his family,
but by mutual help; by each individual consciously striving for the good
of the social body of which he forms part, and the social body in return
caring for each individual: "each for all, and all for each" is its
accepted motto. Thus it proposes to replace among rational and moral
beings the struggle for existence by voluntary combination for life.
More or less imperfectly embodying this theory, we have co-operation in
the concrete, or "the co-operative movement," meaning those forms of
voluntary association where individuals unite for mutual aid in the
production of wealth, which they will devote to common purposes, or
share among them upon principles of equity, reason and the common good,
agreed upon beforehand. Not that a co-operative society can begin by
saying absolutely what those principles in their purity would dictate.
It begins with current prices, current rates of wages and interest,
current hours of labour, and modifies them as soon as it can wherever
they seem least conformable to equity, reason and the common good.

In the industrial world there is everywhere much working together for
the production of wealth, but this is not included in co-operation if
the shares of those concerned are determined by competition, i.e. by a
struggle and the relative ability of each to secure a large share. Nor
do co-operators regard the association as truly voluntary, though it may
depend on contract, if that contract be one of service only, without an
opportunity for all concerned to share in the ultimate control.
Co-operation in fact is essentially a democratic association. On the
other hand, there is some working together for the production of wealth
which without being competitive, or based on service, is not strictly
voluntary: thus in primitive societies there is much customary help,
combined with customary division of the produce; and in advanced
societies we have state and municipal socialism. These are indeed
sometimes included in co-operation, but at least they are not voluntary
co-operation, since the individual has no choice but to take part in
them; they depend on the power of the ruler to coerce the ruled, or of
the majority to coerce the minority. In co