Abstract

This paper is a response to Ratner (2007). Whilst sympathetic with many points made in that paper, it argues that the concept of deep co-operativism it expounds is problematic in certain respects and is only one of many possible ways forward for the co-operative movement. A number of alternatives to deep co-operativism are presented, such as participatory economics, social ecology and a more orthodox co-operativism. The paper concludes that there are problems with all these approaches but this is not a reason to reject any of them in our search for a genuinely more co-operative society.