Customer Reviews

Making Mondragon: The Growth and Dynamics of the Worker Cooperative Complex (International Report, No 14)

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4 star:		(1)
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The Mondragon experiment in cooperative enterprise is relatively little known outside Spain it seems. The fact that such an enterprise was able to emerge within Franco's Spain and flourish as a worker-owned cooperative, despite the many challenges it has faced, is an enormous achievement that begs a great deal more scholarly investigation than it has received until now.
This book gives a valuable insight into the history and formation of this unique undertaking as well as a wonderful portrait of the far-sighted Basque priest who master-minded the original project.
I believe the Mondragon project, despite its many flaws, is an inspiring and fascinating undertaking that has been unjustly neglected by scholars and merits considerable further inquiry, especially by students of alternative economics, cooperativism and socialism.
I would like to heartily thank the authors for their contribution to the study of this unique and fascinating enterprise.

This book was not light reading, by any stretch. It's dense. It's academic.

And, as it happened, it was targeted at axactly the audience I happened to be.

The book is clearly oriented to people interested in the insights and pitfalls of setting up a functioning, large-scale enterprise. Note that I didn't say "cooperative" in that last sentence, because (perhaps unsurprisingly) the lessons learned and approaches taken are fairly universal. This would be a useful book for anybody starting any business.

Mondragon is a remarkable complex, and its success has brought up the standard of living for an entire region. It is an excellent example to follow, but I feel that Whyte does a good job of not fawning over Mondragon or its founders too heavily. The book is refreshingly objective, heavy on facts, keyed toward structural and interpersonal lessons, and a very educational read.

The only quibble I have is that it has not been brought completely up to date. It would be wonderful to have the same type of analysis in light of recent developments in globalization, the Euro zone, and the new recession pummeling Spain.

Very good, even if from many years ago! The book has a detailed description of the history of Mondragon, and the organization of this amazing group of cooperatives.