BRIDGEWATER: A street-level training in democracy at your local Co-op store

Elliot Bridgewater is the founder of Oemichen Bridgewater LLP, a full-service legal practice established in 2017, specializing in providing legal services to the cooperative sector, small businesses, and social enterprises across AlbertaOver the past days, weeks and months, I have watched as Americans slipped into heated conflict between Blue and Red factions. The narrative seems to be ever more narrowly fixated on projecting mid-twentieth-century ideological catastrophes (the rise of Fascism and Marxism) onto present-day political controversies regardless of relevance. Here, in Canada, we see a similar phenomenon as the Trudeau government and media echo the ideological talking points of the Harris campaign, labelling the Conservatives ‘Maple MAGA.’ There has been plenty of ink spilled about how divisive and damaging political rhetoric has become, but there is one theme that is discussed less, which may be more troubling. All sides of these debates champion the ideal of democracy and democratic values while decrying the other side as authoritarian, fascist or worse. But, amidst all of the noise, I wonder if anyone remembers the principles at the heart of democracy or how to practice them.We know, of course, that democracy in the abstract is rule by and for the people, but we often speak of democracy only in its absence. Democracy is not authoritarian censorship for instance, because we know that freedom of speech is so important to a functioning democracy. They also tell us that democracy has something to do with the principles of fairness and equality, although we live in some of the most unequal times in our history.We know the relationship between democracy and the principles and rights inherent in democratic societies are right and true in the abstract, but how many of us participate in democratic organizations at the level of our community or local economy? How many citizens feel the direct impact of their vote and their voice or understand the responsibilities inherent in democratic leadership by standing for election on local boards? If the answer is fewer and fewer, then how can we do democracy well if so few of us ever practice it? We practice democracy poorly or not at all except in the most indirect sense, as 60 percent vote in Canadian provincial and federal elections every four years. How can we develop and sustain the tools and solidarity needed to protect democratic principles and practices from being corrupted by special interests and elites?The answer to this conundrum is that we must generate more democratic participation and leadership within our own communities. Good democratic leaders do not develop out of thin air or descend from the rarified air of the Laurentian/Washington political elites. They come, more often than not, from modest backgrounds. They are self-driven, intelligent, and excellent communicators, yes, but they must also be taught, mentored, and vetted through democratic organizations at the local level before they have the democratic skill set to confront and withstand the fraught and often toxic environments of Ottawa or Washington.Fortunately, we have a long, if often forgotten, history of the successful development of such community-owned democratic organizations in much of the United States and Canada, marked by the active democratic participation of regular people to address shared and practical economic necessities. These organizations were established by and for the people and communities they serve and governed according to democratic rules and principles. A leading example of this kind of organization is the cooperative model.The Co-operative model is participatory democracy in business. People (members) own the cooperative, and they make decisions by casting their individual votes both to elect a Board of Directors to manage the Co-op and to make decisions such as approving fundamental changes, large transactions, financials and budgets. It doesn’t matter how many shares of the Cooperative a member owns; everyone is equal when it comes to decision-making. By participating as a member-owner of a cooperative, people practice democracy in businesses built to serve communities. No one individual or group controls a cooperative and therefore everyone is entitled to speak freely but is also obliged to practice persuasive communication techniques that invoke principles such as the best interest of the group (the co-operative) to reach practical and fair compromises.In the U.S., the first known co-operative was formed by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 no less. However, the cooperative model in both the U.S. and Canada was really driven by less famous folk, farmers, workers, and community organizers. Independent family farmers and workers banded together, investing their hard-earned money, time, and effort in establishing diverse cooperative services, all with a unifying mission: to improve the quality of life of their families and communities. To that end, they established co-operatives where neither the government nor big money capital interests were, which just so happened to be almost everywhere outside of big cities. They accomplished all of these great feats with their own money, effort, and will, with a belief in the enlightened self-interest at the core of democratic governance. No big bureaucracies, large corporations, or qualified ‘experts’ were needed.Today, co-operatives are everywhere, and millions of people across the U.S., Canada, and the world are members of Cooperatives. In Canada, there are a total of 19 million members of Cooperatives, while in the U.S. there are 350 million members. Sadly, few appreciate what they are a part of, the powerful legacy of what they have inherited as member-owners of cooperatives or the proven potential of the cooperative movement in building our communities.If we value democracy, we need to practice it in our daily lives and in our communities. This means showing up to difficult conversations with people who may not share your political loyalties or agree with your worldview for the purpose of finding common ground to improve the lives of the whole community. It also means working with these people and even investing time, money, and energy with them to maintain and develop our local economies. Cooperation has to take priority over group-think, identity politics and culture war.It should go without saying, but screaming into the void on social media is not a replacement for democratic participation in our local communities. Equally, loyalty to party politics and political ideologies of the mid-twentieth century are likely not going to solve the problems of the 21st century or improve the quality of life of our children. We cannot allow ourselves to be continually distracted and divided by cliched debates and first-world culture wars and hope to maintain our democratic republics in the face of so many existential crises encroaching on our societies.We have a legacy of thousands of cooperatives, and millions of cooperative members across Canada and the U.S. that are proof that democratic organizations run by regular people can do amazing things, including raising our people out of poverty and forming strong and principled communities.If we’ve done it before, we can do it again. Our societies are still blessed by wealth and resources that previous generations couldn’t even imagine. We have powerful technologies that allow us to extend the bonds of community far beyond the edge of neighbourhood streetlights. We must now cultivate democratic participation and leadership in younger generations to build from our strong if oft-forgotten cooperative foundations.By practicing participation and leadership in democratic enterprise, we know democracy by its presence and not its authoritarian absence. Our conversations and debates at the community hall are focused on solving shared problems and not on scoring points online, and we see the results of community-owned economic development in thriving local economies.We are called to cooperate in order to appreciate and protect our democratic institutions so that we realize the principles of freedom, fairness, transparency, and accountability in word and action. The alternative is knowing democracy only by its absence, as self-interested and parasitic public and private elites and a disengaged public permit totalitarian politics and unethical businesses to erode our individual rights and impoverish our communities.Elliot Bridgewater is the founder of Oemichen Bridgewater LLP, a full-service legal practice established in 2017, specializing in providing legal services to the cooperative sector, small businesses, and social enterprises across Alberta.

BRIDGEWATER: A street-level training in democracy at your local Co-op store

Related Stories