Most Western societies are proud of being political democracies, but democracy rarely operates within the firm. Democratic governments, in principle, can be criticised freely and are answerable to those they seek to govern. By contrast, managers are not, in general, answerable to those they seek to manage, and the mildest criticism can be dangerous. The central questions of this course are: What would happen if workers ran their own firms? Would worker-managed firms take the same decisions as their capitalist counterparts? Could such an economy be efficient? What policies could be deployed to promote a cooperative sector? The internal impact of employee ownership: productivity, governance and management. The external impact of employee ownership: spillovers for health, democracy, and the local economy. Simple economic theory of the labour managed firm. The “Pangloss Theorem” (if cooperatives are so wonderful, why aren’t there more of them?) Internal versus external financing. Performance bonds and wage-earner investment funds. Degeneration thesis and policies to counter it. Kibbutzim, Pacific plywood cooperatives, Mondragon. Cooperativism in the finance sector (with a comparative international focus): building societies, credit unions, etc. Community renewables: economic democracy in action. There is widespread interest around the world in cooperatives as an alternative to the capitalist corporation, particularly since the financial crash of 2008. Economics and other social sciences can focus and sharpen the debate on cooperatives. Having taken the course, students will be better placed to participate in public discussion on cooperatives, or to join a cooperative or even start a new one. This course was created in collaboration with the following institutions: