Upstream

In the second episode of the series on worker cooperatives, we build on the conversation that we began in Episode one, which explored how cooperatives can serve as a force to widen the spheres of democracy in our society. This second episode shifts the focus outward, exploring how cooperatives confront global capitalism. "Islands within a Sea of Capitalism" takes a deep dive into the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation—the largest network of federated cooperatives in the world. We take listeners on a journey through the Basque region of northern Spain where Mondragon is located, and explore Mondragon's successes and challenges through candid conversations with several worker-members at Mondragon headquarters and at various cooperatives within the federation. After presenting an in-depth exploration of the recent and mixed history of Mondragon from multiple perspectives—including a Marxist analysis—we travel across the Atlantic to Jackson, Mississippi, where an ambitious initiative is just getting underway. Coop