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THE MANY FACES OF GRASSROOTS COOPERATION

This issue reveals once again that globalization from below and workplace democracy are alive and well worldwide: from the Ecuadorian rainforest to Oslo, Norway, from rural Oregon to San Francisco, from western Massachusetts to Mexico....

But the articles and reports you will find here have an additional message: that grassroots cooperation has many diverse sources: indigenous artisans, international committees of national federations, fair trade cooperatives, community-university partnerships, city-wide green festivals, cross-border networks....There is no official blueprint for, nor any single path to, the cooperative commonwealth; nonetheless, there are many “family resemblances” among the initiatives profiled in this issue. Equally important, these groups are becoming aware of one another, and have started building bridges between their diverse approaches to “defend humanity” by building a world in which every voice—and vote—is counted and (as Margaret Mead insisted) “there is a place for every human gift.”

We will return to this hopeful theme in issue #60, concentrating there on what's fresh and new in the diverse movements for grassroots globalization (tentative title: “Rethinking and Reshaping Cooperation”). Till then, may our readers have the very best of holiday seasons.



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