Between leader-worship and member's democracy: The consumer co-operatives in the Fascist Italy

Abstract

We analyse the impact of the Italian fascist regime on the consumer co-operative movement. This is of great interest because of the clash between an anti-democratic political culture and a democratic economic culture. We intend to demonstrate that the fascist regime penalized the consumer co-operative movement in various ways. However, a small number of organizations were an exception to this state of events, and paradoxically succeeded, from an entrepreneurial point of view. Some problems - small size, excessive social investments, a more political than entrepreneurial vision - were often resolved by the new administrators. This distinction is absolutely essential also in terms of the "legacy" for the consumer co-operative movement after 1945 in Italy.