logo

Articles

No. 5 (2023)

LAW, LEGISLATION, COOPERATION: TOWARDS A GENERAL THEORY OF COOPERATION

  • Jerome Nikolai Warren
Submitted
August 22 2025
Published
22-12-2023

Abstract

This contribution attempts to respond to Antonio Fici’s call for increased dialogue between law and economics on the topic of cooperatives. Concretely, it seeks to contribute two things: firstly, to ask what ageneral theoryof cooperation might look like and secondly,to outline a framework for cooperative economics. It does this by attempting to embed democracyin an economic viewpoint, via the notion of arelationalorcooperative rent and discovers that the presently dominant neoclassical model is not in a position to facilitate such a translation. It will be argued that the theory of legal imputationcan serve as a benchmark for rendering organizational decisions respective of stakeholder status. Lastly, drawing especially on work by the German legal historian Otto von Gierke, it outlines the role of a synthetic “social law” that seeks to embed individuals within a collective, connecting these ideas with contemporary discourse on complexity and cybernetics.

References

  1. [Acemoglu and Robinson, 2006]Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J. A. (2006). Eco-nomicoriginsofdictatorshipanddemocracy.CambridgeUniversityPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  2. [Alkorta, 2021] Alkorta, A. B. (2021). Employment in worker cooperatives inthe framework of spanish cooperative law.International Journal of Cooper-ativeLaw,(II):72–87.
    View in Google Scholar
  3. [Aristotle, 2003]Aristotle (2003).Politik:Schriften zur Staatstheorie.Reclam.
    View in Google Scholar
  4. [Aristotle,2011]Aristotle(2011).Theeudemianethics.OxfordUniversityPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  5. [Bauer,2001]Bauer,S.(2001).PolisbildundDemokratieverst ̈andnisinJacob Burckhardts”GriechischerKulturgeschichte”,volume3.Schwabe-CHBeck.
    View in Google Scholar
  6. [Baynes, 1989] Baynes, K. (1989). Kant on property rights and the social con-tract.TheMonist,72(3):433–453.
    View in Google Scholar
  7. [Benanav,2020] Benanav, A. (2020). Automation and the Future of Work.Verso.
    View in Google Scholar
  8. [Benner, 2009]Benner,E. (2009).Machiavelli’sethics.Princeton UniversityPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  9. [Berle and Means, 1932]Berle, A. and Means, G. (2017 [1932]).The moderncorporationandprivateproperty.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  10. [Biggiero, 2022] Biggiero, L. (2022). The Relational View of Economics: A NewResearchAgendafortheStudyofRelationalTransactions.SpringerNature.
    View in Google Scholar
  11. [Bowles, 2016] Bowles, S. (2016). The moral economy: Why good incentives arenosubstituteforgoodcitizens.YaleUniversityPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  12. [Bowles and Gintis, 1986]Bowles,S.andGintis,H.(1986).Democracyandcapitalism:Property,community,andthecontradictionsofmodernsocialthought.BasicBooks.[Bowles and Gintis, 1996] Bowles, S. and Gintis, H. (1996). Is the demand forworkplace democracy redundant in a liberal economy.Democracy and Effi-ciencyintheEconomicEnterprise,London:Routledge,pages64–81.
    View in Google Scholar
  13. [Bowles et al., 1993] Bowles, S., Gintis, H., Gustafsson, B., et al. (1993). Mar-kets and democracy:participation, accountability and efficiency. Cambridge University Press.
    View in Google Scholar
  14. [Brandeis, 1934] Brandeis, L. D. (1934). The curse of bigness: Miscellaneouspapersoflouisd.
    View in Google Scholar
  15. [Buchstein, 2009]Buchstein, H. (2009).Demokratie und Lotterie:Das Los alspolitisches Entscheidungsinstrument von der Antike bis zur EU, volume 70.CampusVerlag.
    View in Google Scholar
  16. [Bull and Ridley-Duff, 2016] Bull,M.andRidley-Duff,R.(2016).Multi-stakeholder co-operativism: The (hidden) origins of communitarian pluralismintheuksocialenterprisemovement.EAEPE2016.
    View in Google Scholar
  17. [Castoriadis,1983]Castoriadis,C. (1983).Thegreek polisand the creationofdemocracy.GraduateFacultyPhilosophyJournal,9(2):79–115.
    View in Google Scholar
  18. [Cicero,1991]Cicero,M.T.(1991).Deofficiis,m.griffinande.atkins.
    View in Google Scholar
  19. [Cockshottetal.,2009]Cockshott,W.P.,Cottrell,A.,Michaelson,G.J.,[Wright,I.P.,andYakovenko,V.M.(2009).Classicaleconophysics,volume2.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  20. [De Woot, 2017]De Woot, P. (2017).Responsible innovation.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  21. [Deckers,2018]Deckers,L.(2018).Motivation:Biological,psychological,andenvironmental.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  22. [Durkheim,1893]Durkheim,E ́.(1893).Deladivisiondutravailsocial.Anci-ennelibrairieGermerBailli`ereetcie.
    View in Google Scholar
  23. [Economou and Kyriazis, 2019]Economou,E.M.N.andKyriazis, N. C.(2019). Democracy and economy: an inseparable relationship from ancienttimestotoday. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
    View in Google Scholar
  24. [Ellerman,2021a]Ellerman,D.(2021a).Thedemocraticworker-ownedfirm:AnewmodelfortheEastandWest.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  25. [Ellerman,2021b]Ellerman,D.(2021b).Neo-Abolitionism:AbolishingHumanRentalsinFavorofWorkplaceDemocracy.SpringerNature.
    View in Google Scholar
  26. [Ellerman,2021c]Ellerman,D.(2021c).Puttingjurisprudencebackintoeco-nomicswhatisreallywrongwithtoday’sneoclassicaltheory.Elster, 200.
    View in Google Scholar
  27. [Elster, J. (2001). Ulysses unbound. Cambridge University Press.
    View in Google Scholar
  28. [Ferreras,2017]Ferreras,I.(2017).Firmsaspoliticalentities:Savingdemocracythrougheconomicbicameralism.CambridgeUniversityPress.[Ficietal.,2013]Fici,A.,Cracogna,D.,andHenry,H.(2013).InternationalHandbookofCooperativeLaw.Springer-Verlag.
    View in Google Scholar
  29. [Foleyetal.,2010]Foley,D.K.etal.(2010). Mathematicalformalismandpolitical-economiccontent.InINETConference,King’sCollege.
    View in Google Scholar
  30. [Foucault,1978]Foucault, M. (1978). Nietzsche, genealogy, history.
    View in Google Scholar
  31. [Friedman,1962]Friedman,M.(1962).Capitalismandfreedom.UniversityofChicagopress.
    View in Google Scholar
  32. [Gierke, 1881]Gierke, O. (1881).Die staats-und korporationslehre des alter-tums und des mittel-alters.Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht, III.) Berlin,page188.
    View in Google Scholar
  33. [Gierke,1889]Gierke,O.(1889).Diesozialeaufgabedesprivatrechts.InDiesozialeAufgabedesPrivatrechts,pages3–46.Springer.
    View in Google Scholar
  34. [Graeber and Wengrow, 2021]Graeber, D. and Wengrow, D. (2021). The DawnofEverything:ANewHistoryofHumanity.Signal.
    View in Google Scholar
  35. [Heilbroner, 1961]Heilbroner,R. L. (1961). The worldly philosophers: Thelives,timesandideasofthegreateconomicthinkers.SimonandSchuster.
    View in Google Scholar
  36. [Henrich et al., 2004] Henrich, J. P., Boyd, R., Bowles, S., Fehr, E., Camerer,C.,Gintis,H.,etal.(2004).Foundationsofhumansociality:Economicexper-iments and ethnographic evidence from fifteen small-scale societies.OxfordUniversityPressonDemand.
    View in Google Scholar
  37. [Herder,1869]Herder,J.G.(1869).IdeenzurGeschichtederMenschheit,vol-ume23.FABrockhaus.
    View in Google Scholar
  38. [Hirschman, 1970] Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responsesto decline in firms, organizations, and states, volume 25. Harvard universitypress.[Hirschman, 1982]Hirschman,A.O.(1982).Rivalinterpretationsofmarketsociety:Civilizing,destructive,or feeble?Journalofeconomicliterature,20(4):1463–1484.[Hirschman,2013] Hirschman, A.O.(2013). Thepassionsandtheinterests.PrincetonUniversityPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  39. [Kant,1983]Kant,I.(1983).Werkeinsechsb ̈anden,hg.v.VonW.Weischedel.Darmstadt:wissenschaftliche.
    View in Google Scholar
  40. [Knight, 2013] Knight, F. H. (2013). The economic organization. TransactionPublishers.
    View in Google Scholar
  41. [Kramer and Porter, 2011] Kramer, M. R. and Porter, M. (2011).Creatingsharedvalue,volume17.FSGBoston,MA,USA.
    View in Google Scholar
  42. [Lafargue,1891] Lafargue, P. (1891).DasRecht auf Faulheit, volume 19.Vorw ̈arts.
    View in Google Scholar
  43. [Lavie, 2006]Lavie, D. (2006).The competitive advantage of interconnectedfirms:An extension of the resource-based view.Academy of managementreview, 31 (3) : 638–658.
    View in Google Scholar
  44. [Malcomson,2013]Malcomson,J.M.(2013).Relationalincentivecontracts.Thehandbook oforganizationaleconomics,pages1014–1065.
    View in Google Scholar
  45. [Marx, 1867] Marx,K. (1867).Capital,volume I.Harmondsworth:Pen-guin/NewLeftReview.
    View in Google Scholar
  46. [Marx,1910]Marx,K.(1910).Theorienu ̈berdenMehrwert:ausdemnachgelassenenManuskript”ZurKritikderpolitischenJHWDietznachf.O ̈konomie”,volume 3.[Marx,1974]Marx,K.(1974).Grundrisseder kritikderpolitischen ̈oonomie (rohentwurf):1857-1858;anh.1850-1859.
    View in Google Scholar
  47. [Maslow,1943]Maslow,A.H.(1943).Atheoryofhumanmotivation.Psycho-logicalreview,50(4
    View in Google Scholar
  48. [Mommsen and Osterhammel, 2013] Mommsen, W. J. and Osterhammel, J.(2013).MaxWeberandHisContempories.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  49. [Montgomery, 1995] Montgomery, D. (1995). Citizen worker: The experience ofworkers in the United States with democracy and the free market during thenineteenthcentury.CambridgeUniversityPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  50. [Morera, 1990] Morera, E. (1990). Gramsci and democracy. Canadian JournalofPoliticalScience/Revuecanadiennedesciencepolitique,23(1):23–37.[Nowaketal.,2010]Nowak,M.A.,Tarnita,C.E.,andWilson,E.O.(2010).Theevolutionofeusociality.Nature,466(7310):1057–1062.
    View in Google Scholar
  51. [Owen, ]Owen, D.Nietzsche’s antichristian ethics:Renaissance virtu and theprojectof reevaluation’. Nietzsche and The Antichrist: Religion, Politics,andCultureinLateModernity,pages67–88.
    View in Google Scholar
  52. [Patmore and Balnave, 2018]Patmore,G.andBalnave,N.(2018).Aglobalhistoryofco-operativebusiness.Routledge.
    View in Google Scholar
  53. [Percy, 1944]Percy, E. (1944).The unknown state:16th riddell memorial lec-tures.
    View in Google Scholar
  54. [Peters and Adamou, 2015]Peters, O. and Adamou, A. (2015). An evolutionaryadvantageofcooperation.arXivpreprintarXiv:1506.03414.
    View in Google Scholar
  55. [Wieland, 2018]Wieland, J. (2018). Relational economics: A political economy.
    View in Google Scholar
  56. [WielandandHeck,2013]Wieland,J.andHeck,A.E.(2013).Sharedvaluedurchstakeholdergovernance.Metropolis-Verlag.
    View in Google Scholar
  57. [Williamson, 1975]Williamson, O. E. (1975). Markets and hierarchies: analysisand antitrust implications: a study in the economics of internal organization.UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign’sAcademyforEntrepreneurialLeadershipHistoricalResearchReferenceinEntrepreneurship.
    View in Google Scholar
  58. [Williamson, 2007]Williamson, O. E. (2007). The economic institutions of cap-italism.firms,markets,relational contracting. In Das Summa Summarumdes Management, pages61–75.Springer.
    View in Google Scholar
  59. [Wilsonetal.,2012]Wilson,E.O.etal.(2012). Thesocialconquestofearth.WWNorton&Company.
    View in Google Scholar
  60. [Peukert, 1998]Peukert,H.(1998).DasHandlungsparadigmainderNa-tional ̈okonomie.Metropolis-Verlag.
    View in Google Scholar
  61. [Polanyi, 1944]Polanyi, K. (2001 [1944]). The great transformation. 2nd beaconpaperbacked.
    View in Google Scholar
  62. [Porter et al., 2012] Porter, M. E., Hills, G., Pfitzer, M., Patscheke, S., andHawkins,E.(2012).Measuringsharedvalue–howtounlockvaluebylinkingbusinessandsocialresults.FoundationStrategyReport,pages1–20.
    View in Google Scholar
  63. [Ricardo,1891]Ricardo,D. (1891).Principlesofpoliticaleconomyandtaxation.G.Bellandsons.
    View in Google Scholar
  64. [Rothkopf, 2012]Rothkopf, D. (2012).Power,Inc.: The Epic Rivalry BetweenBig Business and Government–and the Reckoning That Lies Ahead. Macmil-lan.[Samuelson et al., 2010] Samuelson, P. A., Nordhaus, W. D., Chaudhuri, S.,andEducation,M.-H.(2010).Macroeconomics.TataMcGraw-HillEducation.
    View in Google Scholar
  65. [Schneider and Mannan, 2020]Schneider, N. and Mannan, M. (2020).Exit tocommunity: Strategies for multi-stakeholder ownership in the platform econ-omy.[Schumpeter, 2006] Schumpeter, J. (2006).Theorie der wirtschaftlichen En-twicklung:Nachdruck der 1. Auflage von 1912. Hrsg. underg. um eineEinfu ̈hrungvon Jochen R ̈opke.Duncker&Humblot.
    View in Google Scholar
  66. [Tacitus, 1912] Tacitus,C. (1912).Tacitus’ Germania.Bucchandlung desWaisenhauses.
    View in Google Scholar
  67. [Thompson, 2016]Thompson, E. P. (2016). The making of the English workingclass.OpenRoadMedia.
    View in Google Scholar
  68. [Ulanowicz,2009]Ulanowicz,R.E.(2009). Athirdwindow:naturallifebeyondNewtonandDarwin.TempletonFoundationPress.
    View in Google Scholar
  69. [Wernerfelt, 2016] Wernerfelt, B. (2016).Adaptation, specialization, and thetheory of the firm: Foundations of the resource-based view.Cambridge Uni-versity Press.
    View in Google Scholar
  70. [White and Siu-Yun Lui, 2005]White, S. and Siu-Yun Lui, S. (2005).Distin-guishing costs of cooperation and control in alliances. Strategic ManagementJournal,26(10):913–932.
    View in Google Scholar

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.