The point of Geoffrey Whiteley's booklet is to argue that co-operatives are not just a business but also have the goal of social co-operation - on making society better for the mass of people with commercial success a means to an end.
Whiteley argues that in the 1970's and 1980's the Co-op in the UK was "forced to face up to a pivotal question."
The question was: "What was the point of the Co-op being a successful business unless it was successful as a co-operative first and last?"
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More Than Just A Shop, 2001
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The booklet proceeds to outline how co-operatives in the UK today are community builders - how the co-operative movement's social philosophy is working in practice:
- The campaign to establish the Food Standards Agency.
- Co-op Travelcare introducbing a customers Right to Know - access to the industry's secret truth book on holiday resorts and accommodation.
- The pioneering ethical policy of the Co-operative Bank.
- The Co-operative Insurance Society introducing the first Social Accountability Programme by a major insurer.
- The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act of 1969 sponsored by the co-operative movement.
- The introduction by the Co-operative Group of braille labelling on medicine packaging.
This brief booklet is a powerful reminder of the social goals of co-operatives - how co-operatives have continually worked to make society better for the mass of people.
Geoffrey Whiteley
More Than Just a Shop: The philosophy that inspired Co-operative trading, 2001
