Comment l'implication des membres dans les coopératives peut-elle contribuer à instaurer une démocratie économique dans un contexte de décroissance ?

Abstract

The growth imperative structuring contemporary capitalism is increasingly contested, both for its ecological and social limits and for leaving market forces alone to decide what should be produced, consumed or developed. Degrowth perspective responds by calling for a planned, democratic reduction of production and consumption, which requires extending democracy beyond politics into the economic sphere itself. Cooperatives, through principles such as “one member, one vote” and collective ownership, are often presented as organizations well suited to this economic democracy, yet their legal form alone does not make them degrowth organizations: this depends on how genuinely and how broadly members are involved. This thesis asks how member involvement in cooperatives can contribute to economic democracy from a degrowth perspective. To answer this, the study combines an academic literature review with a qualitative investigation based on 14 semi-structured interviews with administrators, workers and producer-founders across five cooperatives. The findings show that cooperatives provide a framework favorable to economic democracy, but that their democratic potential depends on the quality, diversity and continuity of members’ involvement. Participation extends beyond formal governance bodies through additional spaces for discussion and decision-making, although maintaining active and diverse participation remains a constant challenge. The study also finds that several cooperative practices are compatible with degrowth or post-growth organizations. Growth is generally viewed as a means to support the cooperative’s social purpose rather than as an objective in itself. Overall, cooperatives can contribute to the democratization of the economy and a post-growth transition, but they cannot achieve these transformations alone. Their potential remains dependent on organizational choices, the broader economic and political context, and their ability to maintain meaningful member participation.