In this article, the term ‘old’ cooperatives is used to refer to e.g. agricultural,consumer, credit or housing cooperativesthathave been in existence for more than a generation. Legislation has provided a legal form for cooperatives in Germany and Austria since the late middle of the 19thcentury. Althoughcooperatives today are different from the time of their creation,2these‘old’ cooperatives still can fulfill their historical andsocial functions.3In theirareas of activity, their establishedsystems and structures can contribute socially inthe division of labor,and in an increasingly competitive economy they cancounteract monopolistic concentration and economic and social imbalances.
Holger Blisse (Fri,) studied this question.