ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the growth of the Men's Guild in Britain's urban areas and suggest why, ultimately, the appeal of mutual aid was limited. The Co-operative was also the biggest consumer organization providing a wide range of goods and services for its customers in Britain. Mutual-aid groups were distinct consumer organizations. Underpinning this was a wider ideological element to the movement with an emphasis on social justice, equality and social inclusion. The Co-operative Movement of the early nineteenth century had tried to change the expansion of industrial capitalism by developing alternative communities, but these failed to make a lasting impact. The Co-operative Party was established for the purpose of securing direct representation on local councils as well as in Parliament. The Co-operative Movement existed to provide commercial services because of the experiences of the nineteenth century, while trade unions were the vehicle for economic struggles and the Labour Party for political rights.
