Resisting colonisation: Worker cooperatives’ conceptualisation and behaviour in a Habermasian perspective

Dufays, Frédéric; O'Shea, Noreen; Huybrechts, Benjamin; Nelson, Teresa

doi:10.1177/0950017019895936

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Resisting colonisation: Worker cooperatives’ conceptualisation and behaviour in a Habermasian perspective

Dufays, Frédéric; O'Shea, Noreen; Huybrechts, Benjamin et al.

2020 • In Work, Employment and Society, 34 (6), p. 965–984

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/242257

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10.1177/0950017019895936

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Keywords :

cooperative; workers' participation; Habermas

Abstract :

[en] This article contributes to understanding the role and position of worker cooperatives in society, providing an socio-political explanation to their existence as well as conceptual tools that can be used to imagine and implement economic democracy practices. It uses and complexifies Habermas’ social theory and its separation between system and lifeworld to show that cooperatives may act, intentionally and idealistically, at the interface of these two domains. This positioning enables cooperatives to participate in resisting colonisation of the lifeworld by endowing individuals with resources favouring communicative action and by redefining institutional arrangements within the system. This article identifies factors explaining the varying degrees of resistance to colonisation by cooperatives. It also contributes to theorising the potential effects of organizing work in an economically democratic way.

Research Center/Unit :

CES - Centre d'Économie Sociale - ULiège

Disciplines :

Social economics

Author, co-author :

Dufays, Frédéric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > Entrepreneuriat social et durable

O'Shea, Noreen

Huybrechts, Benjamin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > UER Management : Management en économie sociale

Nelson, Teresa

Language :

English

Title :

Resisting colonisation: Worker cooperatives’ conceptualisation and behaviour in a Habermasian perspective

Publication date :

2020

Journal title :

Work, Employment and Society

ISSN :

0950-0170

eISSN :

1469-8722

Publisher :

SAGE Publications, New York, United States - New York

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

965–984

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 13 December 2019

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