MODERN COOPERATIVES – A CHALLENGE FOR THE MODERN ECONOMY

Abstract

The human person is the subject and goal of all social and economic institutions. In economics, personalism prioritizes the person over the thing, being over having, ethics over technology, the moral dimension over the economic dimension, labor over capital, and mercy over justice. This work presents a number of arguments for the development of cooperatives within a market economy, including in the context of globalization. Cooperative principles and values can be a real help in empowering employees. The term “social enterprise” refers to initiatives that meet economic criteria (production of goods, autonomy of action within the market,economic risk, etc.) and social criteria (development of the local community, democratic management of the enterprise, participatory nature, limited profit distribution).