The Cooperative Movement in Sweden;

              Sheets
on
Sweden
PUBLISHED BY
THE SWEDISH INSTITUTE
The Cooperative Movement
in Sweden
#
c^INstj,
&3
I
SI
%,SH\^
Printed in Sweden, October 1983
Classification: FS 43 k Om
The cooperative movement is well-represented throughout Sweden and thus enjoys a
strong position. It was also one of the factors
contributing to Sweden's evolution from an
agrarian nation into a highly industrialized
and prosperous country. Industry, agriculture, retailing, residential construction and
housing administration are among the sectors
in which cooperatives have played a major
part and continue to do so. Cooperative
activities may assume two forms: producer
and consumer cooperatives.
Cooperative enterprises
The term "cooperative" usually refers to an
economic enterprise operated on the basis
of joint action and self-help. A cooperative is
a type of company organized by and for
groups of people who—by means of their own
work—wish to satisfy their direct interests,
for instance in their role as customers, suppliers, residents or employees. A cooperative
enterprise should have a direct connection
with the needs and economic interests of its
members.
During their emergence, cooperative
enterprises have developed a number of
cooperative principles (rules of conduct):
• Open membership; no one may be
excluded.
• Independence from political parties and
religious denominations.
• Democratic administration—one member, one vote.
• Limited return on investments; patronage
refunds in proportion to purchases made; a
cooperative society is an association of
people, not of capital.
• Capital formation for development and
economic independence.
• Informational activities.
• Cooperative teamwork.
In the various branches of the Swedish
cooperative movement, these fundamental
principles have been interpreted and phrased
in somewhat different ways depending on the
nature of the enterprise. Their main features
nevertheless agree with the principles recommended by the International Cooperative
Alliance, which was formed in 1895 and has
about 1,700 cooperative organizations in 66
countries as members.
Considering their aims and structure,
cooperative enterprises are generally said to
constitute an alternative to public and private
enterprise. It is also common to refer to the
"cooperative sector" as opposed to the "private sector" and the "public sector" of industry and commerce.
Background
The cooperative movement emerged in
Europe in the 1880s, during the transition
from an agrarian to an industrial economy.
The leading country was England, where
individual cooperative societies had arisen as
early as the end of the 18th century. In all
likelihood, there were also many forerunners
of today's cooperatives in Sweden as early as
the beginning of the 19th century and before
that. But not until the 1850s is it possible to
single out actual examples. In that decade,
the first known cooperative company in Sweden was formed: the Lagunda and Hagunda
district goods purchasing company. A few
more cooperatives were formed during the
1850s, then a real wave of new cooperatives
followed in the 1860s and 1870s. The reason
for this wave was the Swedish Freedom of
Commerce Decree (ndringsfrihetsforord-
ningen) of 1864. At that time, a number of
worker production associations also emerged
along cooperative lines.
Generally speaking, the cooperatives of
the period were rather short-lived, among
other things because they were seldom based
on any broad popular support. There are
examples to the contrary, however. One such
example is the consumer association in Klos-
ter, Dalarna province, which was founded in
1858 and remained in operation until 1966.
Another is the western Swedish consumer
cooperative known as the Trollhattan Workers' Association, established in 1867 and still
active today.
The early years
The real breakthrough period for the
cooperative movement came during the
1890s and the decades immediately following. By then, Sweden's industrial revolution
had been underway for some time, creating a
growing working class in the new urban areas.
The cooperative movement found support
among members of other emerging popular
movements: the nonconformist ("free")
church movement, the temperance movement, the farmers' movement and the political (i.e. Social Democratic) and trade union
branches of the labor movement. Those who
were active in these grass-roots organizations
were often members of several popular
movements at the same time. In many cases,
the managements of cooperative associations
included leading local representatives of the
other new popular movements. Between
1896 and 1899 more than 200 new consumer
cooperative associations came into being. In
1899 these associations formed a national
organization called the Swedish Cooperative
Union and Wholesale Society (Kooperativa
fbrbundet, KF).
A number of housing cooperatives were
formed by workers in 1873 and the following
years. Using savings and borrowed funds,
these associations managed to begin constructing homes. But they soon ran into
economic difficulties and were taken over by
private construction companies, while members of the associations suffered sizable
losses.
Only in the early 1920s were new, viable
housing cooperatives formed at the initiative
of local tenants' organizations. The Tenants'
Savings and Building Society (Hyresgdster-