ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY, MADE IN GERMANY: THE MIETSHÄUSER SYNDIKAT MODEL AS A FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING DEMOCRATIC ENTERPRISES

While the upswing in cooperative development in Germany is notable in its own right, of even greater significance is the application of a new organizational model to cooperative projects, which both facilitates the growth of democratic enterprises and organizes them in cohesive networks. Pioneered by the Mietshauser Syndikat in over eighty established projects across Germany, the use of limited liability companies held jointly by the local residents and a larger network has proven both effective as an engine of growth and compatible with the democratic and constitutive ideals so closely identified with cooperatives. This note argues that the Mietshauser Syndikat model can be re- purposed from the development of housing cooperatives to the development of networks of democratic enterprises in both civil and common law jurisdictions. To evaluate and test the applicability of the Mietshauser Syndikat's model to other national contexts this note will consider two examples of cooperative development: the famed Mondragon Cooperative network based in Spain and the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, OH.