An antidote to “today’s individualism.” One hundred and forty years after the founding of the National League of Cooperatives and Mutual Aid Societies (Milan, 1886)

Abstract

This article provides a historiographical assessment of the cultural, economic, and social origins of the 19th-century Italian cooperative movement, marking the 140th anniversary of the founding of the National League of Cooperatives and Mutual Societies (now Legacoop) in Milan in 1886. The article examines the interclass, bourgeois, and philanthropic roots of the phenomenon, promoted by post-Unifi­cation democratic and radical elites to ‘elevate’ the subordinate classes and ensure social stability. The pioneering centrality of the Lombard and Milanese experience is highlighted, in dialogue with international cooperative models and the influence of figures like Mazzini and Luzzatti. Particular attention is paid to the entrepreneurial nature of early cooperation, its longevity (evidenced by the high percentage of coop­eratives among centenarian businesses), and its aggregating capacity.