Mondragon Resources:
I want to recommend some resources for those who are interested in learning more about MCC.
Despite its size, complexity and importance as a development model, in the
Here is the list:
We Build the Road as We Travel: Mondragon A Cooperative Social System
Roy Morrison 1997
Making Mondragon: The Growth and Dynamics of the Worker Cooperative Complex
William Foote Whyte and Kathleen King Whyte 1991
Values at Work Employee Participation Meets Market Pressure at Mondragon George
Cheney 2002
From Mondragon to America: Experiments in Community Development
Greg MacLeod 1998
Finally, I give a less than whole-hearted recommendation to read:
The Myth of Mondragon: Cooperative, Politics, and Working-Class Life in a Basque Town
Sharryn Kasmir 1996
I say that not only because it is critical of the cooperatives, but because it clearly written by someone who makes her conclusions first then goes about trying to find the evidence. From a methodological standpoint this book is garbage. Ultimately, her attack on the coops is not based on very much or very solid evidence and is mostly the view of a naïve, utopian mind set. Kasmir was, it seems, disappointed to find out that Mondragon was not paradise, her conclusion then was that it must be really bad for workers, even worse then regular capitalist companies. The leap is rather self-righteous. However, it does include more about life beyond the coops than the other books and raises important issues about democracy in the coops.
Finally a note about this list, some of these books are dated, but are still very much worth reading to learn the history and structure of the Mondragon Coops. At lot is still relevant today.
I will try to post some stuff soon that gives a more up to date view of MCC.
3 comments:
The view from your dorm looks beautiful! Thanks for the comprehensive reading list.
Any word on the Mondragon movies?
It will be interesting to see how your own experiences hold up to what you've read about Mondragon.
When I was in Italy, there were a few studies I read in Italian of the Imola co-ops that were very helpful background. For example, one group did a study on the participatory culture in the co-ops, looking not only at the worker assemblies, but also to what extent the co-ops had adopted participatory forms of work organization and the union's perceptions of the co-ops.
Dan:
I'm impressed with the blog and your intention to record your experience there. Good work.
The blog template looks fine except I find the top part hard to read because of little contrast between white text on light blue background. Can you darken the background or the type?
I'm surprised at the size of the Mondragon Coops. Where can I find a definitive list of the coops, their businesses, etc.?
I appreciate your reading list and read several. BTW, I found you characterization of K's methodology a bit harsh.
I will follow events there in Basque land with great interest.
Amber, Matt, Dad,
Thanks for writing in, I am glad someone is out there! Amber, I have some of these books at my parents house you can have Tony steal them for you if you want.
In response to my Father’s comments about my analysis of the methodology of the ¨Myth of Mondragon¨, I want to stand by my critique. My dad said I was being a bit harsh calling it ¨garbage¨, but I believe that is the case. In the social sciences one cannot conduct qualitative research and then make quantitative assumptions. That is, Sharryn Kasmir did interviews and a case study in 2 or three factories and made assumptions about the ENTIRE MCC which is made up of more then 120 companies. That is not only methodologically unsound, it is disingenuous. She makes so very interesting and provocative points but ultimately they mostly have to do with the handful of companies she was at. She can make statements about them but not all coops.
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