Abstract

HERNANDEZ, Sarah. Democratizing the Hierarchy: Production Relations and the Division of Labor at a Mexican Cooperative. Nueva antropol [online]. 2006, vol.20, n.66, pp.61-85. ISSN 0185-0636.

In view of the failures of neoliberalism and socialism, it's important to explore practical alternatives to both. Cooperativism is one of them. This is a case study of an industrial cooperative in Mexico that shows the unique character of the cooperativist division of labor, questioning the tendency among some academics and activists to think that cooperatives should overcome labor specialization. Based on 45 interviews with members and hired workers of the Sociedad Cooperativa Trabajadores Pascual, held in 1992 and 1993 and during a visit in 2001, it shows how the workers were able to establish a "third way," an economically successful manufacturing cooperative that has a division of labor but gives the workers control over the production process. This new production organization underlines the need to widen our analysis, from focusing on a technical division of labor to focusing on the division of labor in society. The cooperative becomes not only a production organization, but also a reproductive one that takes care of the human development of the workers. Use of employees limits equality within the cooperative, it doesn't, however, prevent changes in the relations within cooperativist production and the democratization of hierarchical structures

Keywords : cooperativism; production organization and workforce.