New Book Explores Cooperative Society

In The Cooperative Society: The Next Stage of Human History, authors E.G. Nadeau and his son Luc Nadeau suggest that conditions are ripe for a transformation to a more cooperative world. The book was published in 2016 and is available on Amazon. A one-page summary pdf is available for viewing at: http://www.thecooperativesociety.org/.

In the authors' words, "In this book, we present the hypothesis that humans may be on the threshold of a new historical stage, one characterized by cooperation, democracy, the equitable distribution of resources, and a sustainable relationship with nature."  Their text offers research results in support of this hypothesis, such as measuring the growth of cooperatives or trends in equality/inequality, as well as a call to action to help bring about a cooperative society.

The authors look at worldwide trends and see a mixture of encouraging developments along with familiar negative ones. Clearly the global civilization is in dire need of breakthroughs to greater cooperation in the face of existential threats, or we will see further breakdowns from an inability to cooperate to address those threats. 

The authors believe that democracy is spreading globally.  Unfortunately, they illustrate the limitations of a U.S.-centric outlook when they suggest that U.S. global intervention and international sanctions imposed on other countries can further the cause of peace and equality.  But who will sanction the U.S., where democracy is in retreat?

The U.S. position reflects the powerful self-interest that rules Washington and an international order based on the petrodollar and U.S. military domination. The good news is that that 20th century order is breaking down, though accompanied by much conflict.  Whether that breakdown will lead to greater cooperation, as the authors argue is the potential of the historic present, is a momentous question.