‘Trust’ in Cooperatives
Chris Lempa
Black Oak Presents
Summer 2008

By cooperative I mean, “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.”
   
One can see both historical and present day examples of successful cooperative economic and social endeavors. This article will briefly discuss trust – an important element of the cooperative structure. (For more information on what a cooperative is, check out The University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives).
   
While trust is important in most relationships, it is especially important when you venture into cooperative ownership. Most of us have joined groups that failed to get past the second meeting. My experience points to the lack of a common element. Often this is trust. People tend to join groups in which they don't or can't trust the other members simply because they want to belong.
   
Whether it is ideological or social, people want to belong or fit-in. This desire, this need allows us to join groups even if we don't have a full trust of the membership. One participant at a recent meeting of Midwest anti-authoritarians made it clear that he only trusted a handful of the people in the room. Without a careful analysis this seems like a sign of disrespect, but those feelings make more sense when one considers the recent "Green Scare" or Cointelpro. This participant’s main concern was that he didn’t know the people in the room. He mentioned that the group was potentially full of informants, cops, or infiltrators.
   
Perhaps this one example doesn’t speak directly to farmers interested in starting a grain cooperative, but the issue of trust is very relevant. Both organizations rely on participant interaction and cooperation to succeed. Without trust, true cooperation is not possible.
   
Trust, as defined by the anarchist Wiktionary, is “confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.” It can also be defined as “a group of businessmen or traders organized for mutual benefit to produce and distribute specific commodities or services, and managed by a central body of trustees.” While the latter definition differs from that of a cooperative, the similarities are obvious.
   
Trust should be at the basis of all relationships. Without trust there is no relationship. Life is not worth living if we are constantly looking over our shoulder or are always suspicious of the person next to us. Communities, in their purest form, are a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment. Communities, however, are also voluntary structures that arise when people have a common interest. Church groups, political groups, and sports teams are all examples of voluntary, participatory communities.
   
Black Oak Media’s goal is to reshape and rebuild our communities. This will not happen, however, without a paradigm shift. A basic system of trust and understanding with our neighbors and other community members is a good starting place. Once trust is established we will have the building blocks for flourishing cooperatives and mutual aid institutions.
   
Please support Black Oak’s mission by getting involved with us and your community.

Chris Lempa is a streetwise professor in search of the perfect cup of coffee
and the perfect glass of water. He is a guest editor at www.Strike-the-root.com.
  You may e-mail him at 8lempa8@gmail.com.

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