A Theory of Cooperation

HE topic assigned was entitled Theory of Cooperation. TBecause other attempts have been made to formulate theories of cooperation, this attempt must be regarded as a theory. It is limited to the formulation of a theoretical explanation of the economic nature of the cooperative form of business organization, but others have dealt with the problem even from this restricted viewpoint. The outline here presented is necessarily brief and, therefore, sketchy. It is in the nature of a summary of some of the basic essentials as they are being developed in a manuscript for a book on the subject which is in the process of preparation in collaboration with Dr. E. G. Nourse, until recently of the Brookings Institution.