With a turn toward envisioning cooperatives as part of a large social movement, there are growing conversations about the role of scale in economic change, along with debates about what it means to reach scale. What does scale mean to grassroots cooperators at the enterprise, the ecosystem, and movement levels?

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The cooperative movement in the US is politically diverse, but many of its leaders are pushing forward a vision where worker co-ops catalyze a broader social movement for economic democracy and a redistribution of wealth, stewardship, and ownership in the US. With a turn toward envisioning cooperatives as part of a large social movement, there are growing conversations about the role of scale in economic change, along with debate about what it means to reach scale. Pros and cons to any scalar approach merit critical thought and creative exploration. Indeed we may draw inspiration or critique from “achievements” in scale overseas, but we also must reflect on lessons from our own communities here in the United States. In this conversation we explore these questions and potential tensions.  What does scale mean to grassroots cooperators at the enterprise, the ecosystem, and movement levels? Holding awareness that traditional economic development at scale created, perpetuated, and exacerbated a racialized wealth gap, how can cooperatives intervene to close the disparity in wealth between white Americans and communities of color? Speakers will discuss the pros and cons of models like those we see in the Basque Region of Spain within the Mondragon Corporation, and differently structures cooperative ecosystems in Quebec. We’ll confront the questions that cooperators face as they begin to scale, the challenges that emerge for some of the largest cooperatives in this country, and the creative and experimental approaches to scale right here in NYC.