Don’t give up on the Co-op!

…whatever you do - and do persevere with the use of other co-operatives, mutuals and non profit making organisations and continue to support mutuality for the services that you need. This is especially important at a time when a partisan government and other self-interested groups and individuals are throwing as much mud as they can find at anything that’s not motivated by private profit.
Yes, bad things have come to light, particularly at the top of the Co-op, and with disgraceful behaviour by an individual and management forgetting the principles that should be deeply embedded in mutuality. In some respects they showed a degree of recklessness and incompetence that many thought was the preserve of the commercial banks and the private sector organisations that have been awarded massive bailouts from the public purse and government contracts to deliver (or not) at whatever price and quality, services formerly provided by the public sector.
So where might this disappointing and uncharacteristic behaviour (in the Co-op bank particularly) have come from? Could it just possibly be copycat conduct or an infection caught from the casino bankers and their like in the profit making sector?
I refer to those who pay their chief executives scandalous amounts of money, those who have sought to drive small businesses to the wall to increase their own profits, those who have fiddled measures like the formerly internationally respected Libor rate and those who have ‘mis-sold’ ‘insurance’ to name but a few. This is where the real scandals lie and will continue to do so in one form or another.
The persistence of faith in these outfits by the London-based financial correspondents amazes me. Statements I’ve read recently included phrases such as ‘I’m shocked that XYZ bank seems to have learnt nothing…’ and ‘It beggars belief that XYZ bank has…’ Well, it doesn’t beggar belief any more than the discovery that the leopard’s spots are not superficial. Who could seriously have expected these morality-free characters to learn? If you are looking for world-class bad behaviour this is where to find it.
This rank dishonesty and anti-social conduct will carry on as long as cheats continue to be allowed to prosper and bankroll their favourite party in government.
Amongst many other things, what is needed is a return of respect for ordinary people, a sense of fairness and equity and more self confidence in ‘the mutual way’. There would be a real social dividend here – which brings me back to the co-op from which I have just returned with the shopping. Hope to see you there!