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Interesting to see this pop up here! I'm the author, and work for a research institute looking to learn from examples like this one to build a more resilient an

by jduda 9y ago

Interesting to see this pop up here! I'm the author, and work for a research institute looking to learn from examples like this one to build a more resilient and democratized economy in the US. While Emilia-Romagna isn't perfect, one really interesting thing it shows is that you can build a high growth, integrated industrial ecosystem using cooperative capital, with the appropriate policy supports and federation structures. In some ways it is more interesting than Mondragon (the other big proof of concept for at-scale worker cooperatives) because it is far less monolithic. Anyway, if you are interested, check out more of our work at https://thenextsystem.org https://thenextsystem.org and https://democracycollaborative.org https://democracycollaborative.org

camillomiller 9y ago
As an Italian I would like to point out that there is a lot of political clash about this. This ecosystem has bred a lot of leftist politicians over the year and this has continuously been exploited by the right to attack the “coops” as “coperative rosse” (red coops), which - in the Right’s view - leverage political networks and contacts to gain subsidies and tax exemptions on social activities. I personally do not agree, but it is true that Emilia Romagna has historically been one of our most socialist/communist regions. Please note that in Italy “communist” is not an insult (unless you use it like that as Berlusconi does), but it technically just referred to being a voter of the historical Communist Party (recognized as one of the most important elements of our democracy until the 80s). In regard to Retail, this has led to a long-term spat between Mr. Bernardo Caprotti, the CEO of Esselunga until 2013, and COOP, the Retail cooperative mentioned in the article. Esselunga is a large retail chain, particularly popular in the center-north. In 2007, Mr. Caprotti wrote a book called “Falce e Carrello” (literally sickle and shopping cart, a play on falce e martello, Italian for sickle and hammer) which became sort of a bestseller. In the book he accused COOP of unfair market practices to block the expansion plans of Esselunga in the so-called red regions, with Emilia Romagna as the central stage for these accusations. Although Caprotti passed away in 2016, a lawsuit brought by COOP against him is still ongoing. First and Second grade had opposite results so far. The case is now being examined by the Italian Appeal Court, which will have a final say on the case. I’d just like to add that the COOP’s supermarkets are probably the best food shopping experience you can think of. If you’re visiting Emilia Romagna, just get into one. You’ll see that the stereotypes about Italian food quality and variety are true! Edit: toyg’s comment, below, has a great take on the critical points of the COOP system. (Just to clarify: Caprotti’s accusations were driven by opposing ideology and personal grievances, but they weren’t completely unfactual)
- walshemj 9y ago
  Well it is true that Italian coops are very left wing as opposed to Uk coops which are mildly leftish (I a using the uk/euro definition) Btw I was a member of a UK tech worker coop - Poptel One amusing anecdote when one of our guys went out to Italy to try and sell the idea of the .coop domain to coops he got the view that some of them thought the internet was a CIA plot
- znpy 9y ago
  > I’d just like to add that the COOP’s supermarkets are probably the best food shopping experience you can think of. As an italian I am not here to deny this. I have to point out, however, that Esselunga-branded products are usually very good in quality. Edit: I am not affiliated with Esselunga, but I have heard a lot of cool stories from people working there.
  - camillomiller 9y ago
    True. As a general given: we pretend a level of quality for “normal tier” food products in big retail stores (not discount stores of course) that would make Whole Foods pale.
simonebrunozzi 9y ago
I would like to put you in touch with a few very interesting/influential people in Italy. Please drop me an email (my HN username @ gmail).

by jduda 9y ago

camillomiller 9y ago

As an Italian I would like to point out that there is a lot of political clash about this. This ecosystem has bred a lot of leftist politicians over the year and this has continuously been exploited by the right to attack the “coops” as “coperative rosse” (red coops), which - in the Right’s view - leverage political networks and contacts to gain subsidies and tax exemptions on social activities. I personally do not agree, but it is true that Emilia Romagna has historically been one of our most socialist/communist regions. Please note that in Italy “communist” is not an insult (unless you use it like that as Berlusconi does), but it technically just referred to being a voter of the historical Communist Party (recognized as one of the most important elements of our democracy until the 80s). In regard to Retail, this has led to a long-term spat between Mr. Bernardo Caprotti, the CEO of Esselunga until 2013, and COOP, the Retail cooperative mentioned in the article. Esselunga is a large retail chain, particularly popular in the center-north. In 2007, Mr. Caprotti wrote a book called “Falce e Carrello” (literally sickle and shopping cart, a play on falce e martello, Italian for sickle and hammer) which became sort of a bestseller. In the book he accused COOP of unfair market practices to block the expansion plans of Esselunga in the so-called red regions, with Emilia Romagna as the central stage for these accusations. Although Caprotti passed away in 2016, a lawsuit brought by COOP against him is still ongoing. First and Second grade had opposite results so far. The case is now being examined by the Italian Appeal Court, which will have a final say on the case. I’d just like to add that the COOP’s supermarkets are probably the best food shopping experience you can think of. If you’re visiting Emilia Romagna, just get into one. You’ll see that the stereotypes about Italian food quality and variety are true! Edit: toyg’s comment, below, has a great take on the critical points of the COOP system. (Just to clarify: Caprotti’s accusations were driven by opposing ideology and personal grievances, but they weren’t completely unfactual)

walshemj 9y ago
Well it is true that Italian coops are very left wing as opposed to Uk coops which are mildly leftish (I a using the uk/euro definition) Btw I was a member of a UK tech worker coop - Poptel One amusing anecdote when one of our guys went out to Italy to try and sell the idea of the .coop domain to coops he got the view that some of them thought the internet was a CIA plot
znpy 9y ago
> I’d just like to add that the COOP’s supermarkets are probably the best food shopping experience you can think of. As an italian I am not here to deny this. I have to point out, however, that Esselunga-branded products are usually very good in quality. Edit: I am not affiliated with Esselunga, but I have heard a lot of cool stories from people working there.
- camillomiller 9y ago
  True. As a general given: we pretend a level of quality for “normal tier” food products in big retail stores (not discount stores of course) that would make Whole Foods pale.

simonebrunozzi 9y ago

I would like to put you in touch with a few very interesting/influential people in Italy. Please drop me an email (my HN username @ gmail).