The initial seed of consumer co-operativism in Greece: the case of Self-Help by the People (1869–1871) and the influence of J.S. Mill

ABSTRACT

Recently, the history of consumer co-operatives attracted scholars’ attention. J.S. Mill is one of the first political economists to anticipate the importance of consumer co-operatives. In his Principles of Political Economy (1848), he narrates the history of the Rochdale Pioneers, the most successful example of consumer co-operatives during the nineteenth century. In Greece, the constitution of the Greek kingdom during the mid-1820s’ accelerated the overdue capitalist transformation of the Greek economy. This slow transformation was associated with a hesitant introduction of European practices and the diffusion of classical and radical economic ideas. The Rochdale experiment and Mill’s co-operative ideas heavily influenced the formation of Self-Help by the People, the initial seed of consumer co-operativism in Greece, in 1869. In discussing the birth, development and decline of Self-Help by the People, we delineate the role of co-operative economic ideas in influencing the co-operative movement during the nineteenth century.

KEYWORDS:

• J.S. Mill
• consumer co-operatives
• Rochdale Pioneers
• Self-Help by the People

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Patmore and Balnave, A Global History of Co-operative Business.

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17 McCabe, John Stuart Mill, Socialist.

18 McCabe, John Stuart Mill and Fourierism: ‘Association’, ‘Friendly Rivalry’ and Distributive Justice.

19 Mill’s influence is discussed in Manioudis, Yiardoglou and Milonakis, The Diffusion of John Stuart Mill’s Ideas and Greek Political Economy: The Case of Aristèdes Econòmos.

20 Manioudis, Yiardoglou and Milonakis, The Diffusion of John Stuart Mill’s Ideas and Greek Political Economy: The Case of Aristèdes Econòmos.

21 Glickman, Consumer activism, consumer regimes and the consumer movement: Rethinking the history of consumer politics in the United States and Dulsrud, Citizen-Consumers: consumer protection and empowerment.

22 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 775.

23 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 1006.

24 McCabe, John Stuart Mill, Socialist, 105.

25 Mill, Essays on Economics and Society.

26 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 795.

27 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 796.

28 Wilson, Webster and Vorberg-Rugh, The Co-operative Movement in Britain: From Crisis to ‘Renaissance’.

29 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 791.

30 McCabe, John Stuart Mill: Market Socialist?

31 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 790.

32 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 792.

33 Mill, The Later Letters of John Stuart Mill 1849–1873, 1032.

34 Patronis and Mavreas, Agricultural Cooperative Organisations in Greece throughout the 20th Century: A Critical Overview.

35 Psalidopoulos, Aristides Economos and the “Oikonomiki Epitheorissis”: The Rise and Fall of an Economic Journal in 19th Century Greece.

36 Baloglou, The Diffusion of the Ideas of Saint-Simon in the Hellenic State and Their Reception Thereby (1825–1837).

37 Manioudis, Yiardoglou and Milonakis, The Diffusion of John Stuart Mill’s Ideas and Greek Political Economy: The Case of Aristèdes Econòmos.

38 Medina-Albaladejo and Pujol-Andreu, Social Economy and Living Standards: Consumer Co-operatives in Barcelona, 1891–1935.

39 Robertson, Collective Strength and Mutual Aid: Financial Provisions for Members of Co-operative Societies in Britain.

40 Guinnane, Regional Organisations in the German Cooperative Banking System in the Late 19th Century.

41 Spangenberg, Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch: The Cooperative Idea in German Liberal Thought.

42 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 788.

43 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 788–789.

44 Mill, Principles of Political Economy with some of their applications to Social Philosophy, 789.

45 Mavrocordàto, For Credit Banks of the People.

46 Mavrocordàto, For Credit Banks of the People.

47 Manioudis, Yiardoglou and Milonakis, The Diffusion of John Stuart Mill’s Ideas and Greek Political Economy: The Case of Aristèdes Econòmos.

48 Economos, Labour Settlements, 307.

49 Econòmos, Labouring Collusion, 224.

50 Econòmos, Co-operatives in England, 423.

51 Co-operative News (January 1871a), 3.

52 Eutaxias informs us that Economos drafted numerous co-operative statutes’. Among them were Union of Friends, Union of Honorable Artificers, the Society of Kifisia, the Society of Marousi, the Popular Economy Savings Bank, Eutaxias, For Co-operatives, 411.

53 Mansòlas, Population of Greece during 1870, 172–173.

54 Potamianos, Regulation and the Retailing Community: The Struggle Over the Establishment of the Holiday of Sunday in Greece, 1872–1925, 170.

55 Soutsos, Wealth Inquiries.

56 Kardasis, Diaspora Merchants in the Black Sea: The Greek in Southern Russia 1775–1861.

57 We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for bringing this into our attention.

58 Econòmos, Labouring Collusion.

59 Boùkas, Retail, Geographical and Historical Guide of the Major Cities of Greece.

60 Robertson, Collective Strength and Mutual Aid: Financial Provisions for Members of Co-Operative Societies in Britain, 925.

61 Econòmos, Labouring Collusion, 224.

62 Robertson, Collective Strength and Mutual Aid: Financial Provisions for Members of Co-operative Societies in Britain.

63 See inter alia, Co-operative News (December 1870b), 1 and Co-operative News (January 1871b), 1.

64 Co-operative News (January 1871a), 4.

65 Co-operative News (February 1871e), 2, Co-operative News (February 1871f), 1 and Co-operative News (March 1871g).

66 Co-operative News (February 1871e), 2.

67 Co-operative News (February 1871h), 2

68 See inter alia, Co-operative News (February 1870a), 2.

69 Wilson, Webster and Vorberg-Rugh, The Co-operative Movement in Britain: From Crisis to ‘Renaissance’.

70 Co-operative News (December 1870a), 3.

71 Co-operative News (March 1871h), 2.

72 Patronis stresses the delays in co-operative lending in Greece in comparison with other European countries while at the same time he notes that the National Bank of Greece had the monopoly, till the first decades of the 20th century, of providing loans to co-ops, Patronis, From the 1900’s agricultural ‘experimentation’ to the State’s intervention at the 20’s: The Greek cooperatives before the creation of Agricultural Bank of Greece.

73 Co-operative News (January 1871b), 4.

74 Co-operative News (March 1871d), 4.

75 Co-operative News (December 1870b), 2.

76 Eutaxias, For Co-operatives, 405.

77 Potamianos, Moral Economy? Popular Demands and State Intervention in the Struggle over Anti-Profiteering Laws in Greece 1914–1925.

78 Co-operative News (March 1871d), 4. For a discussion regarding the Sunday holiday in Greece, see Potamianos, Regulation and the Retailing Community: The Struggle Over the Establishment of the Holiday of Sunday in Greece, 1872–1925.

79 Econòmos, Labouring Collusion.

80 Potamianos, Regulation and the Retailing Community: The Struggle Over the Establishment of the Holiday of Sunday in Greece, 1872–1925, 170.

81 We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for bringing this into our attention.

82 Vàmvas, For banks of the People, 208.

83 Purvis, Stocking the Store: Co-operative Retailers in North-East England and Systems of Wholesale Supply circa 1860–1877.

84 Econòmos, Labouring Collusion.

85 Balnave and Patmore, Rochdale Consumer Co-operatives in Australia: Decline and Survival.

86 Purvis, Societies of Consumers and Consumer Societies: Co-operation, Consumption, and Politics in Britain and Continental Europe c.1850–1920.

87 Gurney, Co-operation and the ‘New Consumerism’ in Interwar England.

88 Purvis, Stocking the Store: Co-operative Retailers in North-East England and Systems of Wholesale Supply circa 1860–1877, 57.

89 Co-operative News (April 1871j), 2.

90 Eón. (1871, 3 May), 2.

91 Econòmos, Labouring Collusion.

92 Cooperative-News informs us that one of these employees, named George Katsarópoulos, purloined 1.300 drachmas and returned only 700 drachmas (Cooperative News 1870b; 1871a).

93 Eutaxias, For Co-operatives.

94 Workers are extremely important in supporting consumer co-ops. For instance, Balnave and Patmore note that the decline of working class communities in Australia mining areas had a negative effect on the sustainability of the consumer cooperative movement, Balnave and Patmore, Rochdale consumer co-operatives in Australia: Decline and Survival.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Manolis Manioudis

Manolis Manioudis is a historian of economic thought who holds a PhD and Post-doc from the Department of Economics, University of Crete, Greece. His research interests include the history of economic thought, economic history and political economy.

Dimitra Yiardoglou

Dimitra Yiardoglou is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Crete, where he teaches economic history.