The Old Laundry, Bedford Road, Northampton, which houses the Daily Bread Co-operative. Photo: Photo: Sian Harrison via Wikimedia Commons CC.
Economic justice: The cooperative alternative
Roger Sawtell believes that it is time for radical change
Almost three thousand years ago the prophet Isaiah thundered against the arrogance of the leaders and the unjust disparities between rich and poor. If he were around today he would probably be using very similar words. At the beginning of this century, undeterred by criticism from a few perceptive economists and philosophers, banks were making ridiculously risky loans: businesses were able, freely, to pursue the maximising of profits for shareholders, most of whom had never darkened the doors of the establishments from which they drew an income. By means of huge bonuses, share options and complex financial manoeuvres, bankers and business leaders became richer every year. A somewhat contradictory report in The Sun in 2005 claimed that ‘millionaires are now two-a-penny’. Then came the crash in 2008.
