Cooperatives are created by a pooling or mixing of economic interests or labors. Members "throw in their lot" with others who do the same, with a view to realizing certain benefits impossible by action ad seriatim - such as economies of scale, increases in productivity, or retention of profits by workers. A cooperative is distinguished from a capitalist enterprise by its egalitarian structure, its goal, and its status: its goal is the mutual benefit of members, with the result that if a co-op is for-profit, it is as a means only, not as end. Equally, cooperatives are autonomous with regard to states, even though they are typically socially-owned in undivided shares. --------- Betsy Bowman
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