During a recent live interview on the national broadcasting channel, GoftoGoo Radio, Anahita Eslahpazir, the CEO of Rah-E Roshd cultural and educational cooperative, expounded on the factors responsible for Iranian cooperatives’ inability to realize their promised 25% share in the national economy.
During this hour-long interview, they elaborated on the salient issues that have plagued Iranian cooperatives since their inception. Chiefly among these issues are the glaring disparities between the private sector and cooperatives, an oversimplified approach to establishing cooperatives, bureaucratic red tape and an unfavorable regulatory environment, interference in the cultivation of participatory action, and infringement of the decisions made by cooperatives.
Ms. Eslahpazir further clarified the importance of viewing cooperatives and collaborative work as a way of life: “Cooperatives are not exclusive to times of crisis, such as the tumultuous 8-year period of Iran’s imposed war, and if a cooperative outlook persists in different fields and a belief in this lifestyle is fostered – of course, the realization of which requires education on the matter – the resulting work will prove fruitful.”
The managing director further illustrated their point by making a clear distinction between true cooperatives and private quasi-cooperatives: “A cooperative’s end goal is clear! It either produces a more affordable product or provides sustainable employment. However, some companies are cooperative only in name, operating like the private sector under the guise of utilizing collaborative work. For instance, many private sector companies forgo the five principles a cooperative needs to abide by as stipulated in their statute.”
In a continuation of their live interview, Ms. Eslahpazir pointed out the respective roles of cooperatives and the private sector in the country’s economy by emphasizing that cooperatives are not in competition with the private sector, and in explaining this matter, they said: “Their performance should not be compared with the private sector as cooperatives require incentives to achieve their goals; goals that are reflected in their values.”
They added: “A cooperative has both a social and an economic mission, but the private sector is solely concerned with the economic aspects and, consequently, is prone to causing social harm while improving economic conditions. The most detrimental of these societal issues is the consensus that cooperatives are a subset of the private sector.”
In their concluding statement, Ms. Eslahpazir drew attention to the close ties between the concept of collaborative labor and the religious teachings that have long been ingrained in Iran’s cultural fabric: “There is this popular notion that claims a lack of camaraderie between Iranians. However, by returning to our roots, we can observe how collaborative work was instrumental in securing a family’s economic status. This culture has been the foundation of all the positive developments in the country!”
