Gli economisti e la cooperazione

The Italian Constitution recognizes the social function of co-operation, considering it worthy of public support. The co-operative movement is instead going through an identity crisis. The crisis stems from the difficulty to apply the text of the Constitution: what is at present the social function of co-operation? In what sense do co-operative firms differ from the capitalistic ones? Are State aids likely to distort free competition? I have been trying in this work to reconstruct the social function of co-operation in the course of time as well as how it has been assessed by great economists. These, together with jurists, have been exerting a great influence on public opinion and legislators, both as advisors and opinion makers. It was not my aim to tell the entire story but simply to depict some features of Italian experience which hopefully may give a hint of the global phenomenon.