How did the values evolve?
Throughout history human kind has sought to work together to achieve mutual goals, and in many parts of the world, self-help and primitive co-operation were the foundation of society. Co-operatives have consequently developed within a vast array of belief systems that have greatly influenced co-operators and, co-operators around the world have developed and expressed views of what is good, desirable and worth striving for to improve human living conditions.

In the introduction to "Consumers Co-operation in Great Britain" published in 1938 it states -

"The co-operative ideal is as old as human society. It is the idea of conflict and competition as a principle of economic progress that is new. The development of the ideal of co-operation in the 19th century can best be understood as an attempt to make explicit a principle which is inherent in the constitution of society, but which had been forgotten in the turmoil and disintegration of rapid economic change. It is against the background of the industrial revolution and the dislocation which accompanied it, that the early ideas of co-operation and the origins of the Co-operative Movement must be judged."

The 1995 revision and consultation process
In 1988 Lars Marcus, then President of the International Co-operative Alliance, challenged the international Movement to re-examine its basic values and to provide a clear picture of the Movement's purpose. Four years later, the ICA at the Tokyo Congress considered the work on Co-operative Values by Sven Åke Böök of Sweden.

In 1995 Ian MacPherson presented documents to the ICA Centennial Congress in Manchester, which built upon Böök's work on values.

The final "Statement on the Co-operative Identity" had involved a wide consultation. This consisted of a questionnaire distributed across the world, the formation of a primary reference group of six people, an Advisory Panel of fifty people with various drafts sent to co-operators around the world who met and discussed how the Principles should be changed.

Macpherson was "humbled by the immensity of the task of understanding the International Movement", as there was so much to understand. He stated "I am a middle aged, Northern, privileged male, whose belief systems and characteristic attitudes have been shaped by that background, a background with much potential good in it but also severe limitations of understanding". For him, the revision task had been an important learning process in his life, in which the power and dignity of the Movement had been deepened.

The Identity Statement, therefore, does not belong to anyone specifically but rather is owned by the world-wide Co-operative Movement.

Values
MacPherson stresses that the reference to values is profoundly significant. It was challenging to summarise values when there were so many to be included.

The values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity are particularly important because they directly underline the organisational structure of a co-operative. The resultant principles are manifestations of that particular list of values. The relationship is striking and powerful.

The second list of values, honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others reflect the commitments that co-operators have traditionally tried to bring to their organisations.

Principles
The principles specified are intended to apply to all kinds of co-operatives in all kinds of situations and have an inherent flexibility. Viewed as a totality, these principles, linked to their sustaining values, indicate what is unique about co-operatives regardless of where they exist. Each principle demands a form of minimal behaviour from every co-operative.

MacPherson states that, "the principles are only guidelines that indicate minimal standards of organisational behaviour and continually suggest further possible actions; they are not just commandments". He urges co-operators to think of the principles as "active catalysts and not just as regulatory maxims ... far from being a constraint on what we do, the principles will give us the insights and dynamism required to become even more valuable in the future to the human family around the world".

The distinct co-operative values
Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.

"Self-help" is based on the belief that all people can and should strive to control their own destiny. Co-operators believe that full individual development can take place only in association with others. As an individual, one is limited in what one can try to do, what one can achieve. Through joint action and mutual responsibility, one can achieve more, especially by increasing one's collective influence in the market and before governments. Individuals also develop through co-operative action by the skills they learn in facilitating the growth of their co-operative; by the understanding they gain of their fellow-members; by the insights they gain about the wider society of which they are a part. In those respects, co-operatives are institutions that foster the continuing education and development of all those involved with them.

"Self-responsibility" means that members assume responsibility for their co-operative - for its establishment and its continuing vitality. Further, members have the responsibility of promoting their co-operative among their families, friends and acquaintances. Finally, "self-responsibility" means that members are responsible for ensuring that their co-operative remains independent from other public or private organisations.

"Democracy" is a complex word. It can usefully be thought of as a listing of rights; indeed, the struggle for democratic rights on a political level is a common theme of the history of the last two centuries.

Within co-operatives, "democracy" includes considerations of rights and responsibilities. It means fostering the spirit of democracy within co-operatives, a never-ending, difficult, valuable, even essential, task.

Co-operatives are based on "equality". The basic unit of the co-operative is the member, who is either a human being or a grouping of human beings. This basis in human personality is one of the main features distinguishing a co-operative from firms controlled primarily in the interests of capital. Members have rights of participation, a right to be informed, a right to be heard, and a right to be involved in making decisions. Members should be associated in a way that is as equal as possible, sometimes a difficult challenge in large co-operatives or in federations of co-operatives. In fact, concern for achieving and maintaining equality is a continuing challenge for all co-operatives. In the final analysis, it is as much a way of trying to conduct business as it is a simple statement of rules.

"Equity" refers, first of all, to how members are treated within a co-operative. They should be treated equitably in how they are rewarded for their participation in the co-operative, normally through patronage dividends, allocations to capital reserves in their name, or reductions in charges.

"Solidarity" means that co-operators and co-operatives stand together. Members have the collective responsibility for the collective interest of the co-operative's members. They aspire to the creation of a united Co-operative Movement, locally, nationally, regionally, and internationally. They co-operate in every practical way to provide members with the best quality goods and services at the lowest prices. They work together to present a common face to the public and to governments. They accept that there is a commonality among all co-operatives, regardless of their diverse purposes and their different contexts. Solidarity is the very cause and consequence of self-help and mutual help, two of the fundamental concepts at the heart of co-operative philosophy, which distinguishes co-operatives from other forms of economic organisation.

Distinct ethical values for co-operatives

The second values sentence reads: "In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others". It can be argued rightly that the ethical values to which Co-operatives aspire influence the activities of some capital-controlled and some government-owned organisations. These ethical values can be found in many forms of organisation, but they are particularly cogent and undeniable within Co-operative enterprises. (MacPherson) Co-operatives distinguish themselves in the market place by honest measurement, high quality and fair prices. Many have prospered through the commitment to high quality, honestly labelled produce. Internally, they strive for honest systems of open management, and this bias towards openness, as public organisations, necessarily demands regular information on their activity to members and the public.

Co-operatives invariably have special relationships with their communities to which their members belong, and therefore strive to be socially responsible in their activities. Many co-operatives extend this responsibility to a capacity to care for others within their financial constraints and make significant human and financial contributions to communities at home and abroad.

Source: Co-operative Principles for the 21st Century by Ian MacPherson, ICA