ABSTRACT
A central challenge for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of cooperative business is to understand both the context in which cooperators and cooperatives exist and the profound differences between cooperatives and other forms of business. Cooperative businesses are islands in a sea of investor-owned firms. As islands, they are impacted by the language and concepts of the world around them even when the language and concepts are inappropriate. Cooperatives are profoundly different from investor-owned firms, and this difference is the key to meaningful understanding of all aspects of cooperative business. Understanding the nature, role, and behaviour of capital in cooperatives can potentially help redress the social damage caused by the global financial crisis that has affected our economic and social lives since 2007.
