Transcending Capitalism Through Cooperative Practices (PDF)

Catherine P. Mulder is Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, USA, and also teaches in the Masters of Labor Studies program at CUNY's Murphy Institute. A former cable splicer for the telephone company, Mulder has been a worker advocate and labor activist for over 30 years. Because of her roots, she now dedicates her research, teaching, and service to improving workers' rights and their conditions of employment.

"What do a group of orchestra musicians, the Green Bay Packers, an urban farm, a credit union, a Midwest factory, and a sex club have in common? They have created successful, long-lasting, thriving organizations that are alternatives to the standard capitalist model of an enterprise. Through six detailed cases, Mulder weaves an intriguing and entertaining story of how worker ownership and participation can thrive in a surprising variety of environments, providing a glimpse at an alternative economic model." - Elaine Bernard, Executive Director, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School, USA

"On economic, political, and moral grounds, capitalism is challenged now from the standpoint of an alternative form of organizing production. Known as worker cooperatives, this alternative is fast becoming a major objective for a remarkable diversity of people. In poor but also rich countries, among service providers as well as goods producers, for unionized, non-unionized, and unemployed workers alike, even for the United Nations and the new Pope, cooperatively organized enterprises are increasingly more important. Mulder's new book excellently explores their theory and examines concrete examples of cooperative enterprises." - Richard D. Wolff, Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA and The New School, USA

"This is the type of firm-specific class analysis that is essential for envisioning non-capitalist forms of production. Mulder's method and findings orient the compass not only for the future of Marxian thought but all of economic and social theory interested in new ways to organize production and society." - David M. Brennan, Associate Professor, Franklin & Marshall College, USA

"Mulder's latest book is another important and innovative contribution to labor scholarship. In it she uses new Marxian class analysis (NMCA) to examine six diverse case studies of cooperative enterprises. They range from classical music (the