ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses one of the perhaps most central issues in the debate on rural cooperation, namely that of the socialisation of labour. It shows that much of the formal work done has served to cloud the crucial issue, namely the quality aspect of socialised labour. The chapter investigates in turn three different modes of cooperation that feature different degrees of socialised labour. It identifies three different modes of cooperation; a pure commune, a collective, and an association. The chapter also shows the crucial role of incentive systems, a role that has been partly lost in the literature. It presents consequently centre on two issues; firstly, the role of incentives in cooperatives, and secondly the relation between these incentives and the size of the cooperative. The chapter draws together the evidence presented, in order to issue a warning against a reliance on socialised labour in a comprehensive development strategy.
