TIC I ILOGOVi’T CF C1 '-OP 'TV'TIOI!
Today,three faiths have forced
the older religions’ of our world
into the background, and confront
each other as bitter rivals for the
alle0iance of the human spirit*
Each offers itself as the surest
guarantee that we shall attain our
heart’s desire; each calls upon
us to surrender ourselves body and
mind entirely to its salvation and
live happily ever after, . 'The first
of the three is Capitalism, ‘i'he
second is Communis-;. The third is
Fascism, To us who search.out the
meanings of thoir prophets and
evangelists it is clear that what
ever else they may be, they are not
philosophies, Each is a rationa
lization of some special desire.
Capitalism rationalizes the greed
of a blind self-interest for pro
fits, Communism rationalizes the
hatred due to want and weakness
which the havenots feel against
the haves. Fascism rationalizes
the lust for power and the fear to
lose it which makes the haves the
merciless exploiters of tho have
nots .
CUn FAITH
Against those three hitter
and enhattled faiths we co-opera
tors set our fourth generous and
peace-loving one. The faith in
Consumer Co-operation is not ration
alized and cannot bo rationalized.
It is a philosophy of life which
rests tip on the some discoveries,
the sane principles, and the sane
loyalty to the inward truths of
human nature as the Spirit of pol
itical democracy which is embodied
in "the American bream." The prin
ciples are the same as those of the
Declaration of Independence: that .
human beings, whatever their race'
or faith or nationality or sex,
are all different people with equal
rights--particularly the ri0hts to
life, liberty and the pursuit.of .
happiness; that these rights are.
inalienable, that governments--and
all other forms of human associa
tion- -are formed to secure these
rights and that they deri/e their,
just powers from the consent of the
governed.
In its essence, the C msumer
Co-operative Ilovoment is a node of'
association by which these funda
mentals of Americanism may be made
effective in the economic field.
It is tlio movernent v/1 ?.ich e 1 n and
will ijncricanise our still un
Americanizod national ecc >o ic
establishment. Its rules and
methods, first devised by the 28
weavers of Rochdale have b some
those through which scores of mil
lions of people the world over are
passing from economic bondage to
economic freedom, from eGenomic
helplessness to economic power,
from economic scarcity to economic
abundance and.from moralp id spir
itual servility to moral d spir
itual liberty.
Robert Oven, the fat or of
Co-oe or at ion, knew of the- essent
ial identity of the co-o] motive
ideal and the co-operative n thod
.•frith the democratic idea? and the
democratic method of -merles. It
was never quite forgotten, h it
we are rediscovering it a ain, when
wo recognise that we arc consumers
by nature and producers cn dy by
necessity.
CONSTTT . TIOr) IS pr.l ARY
Wo arc born consumers, mcl
all consumption is. a natural func
tion involving; values an A ads.
Production, on the other ;.and, is
an acquired function; we "o not
produce to produce, wo only pro
duce to consume,. All pro" ction
i3 for the sake of concur: tion,
but all consumption is for its own
sake. In consumption wo live our
lives; in production, v/o cnly work
for our livings. But the economic
order which Capitalists d fond and
which. Communists and Fascists im
pose degrades consunptior into the
servant of production, as the pol
itical order they Oo witi degrades
the individual into the r. .re tool
of the corporation or ti e state.
The Co-operative mov .out, by
insisting on the primacy of the
consumer, builds the cons- mer
function into the structure of the
social order as the prince. :le of
its control. Thus it preserves
Individuality where its rivals