How do co-op folks feel about the term Member compared to, say, Owner? It seems clear that within Capitalism, Membership is an increasingly weak & vague idea with little implication of ownership or democratic control.
In an world where you can be a "member" of things as varied as a gym, amazon prime, a youtube page, a zoo, a theme park, a political party, a car rental place, costco…
What term can consistently draw a firm line between co-ops & capitalist "perk programs" who sell a co-op vibe?
@hakanto Depends upon the co-op arrangement. In the USA, I certainly don't feel like an "owner" or "partner" in either my credit union or local phone co-op. I'm not even sure "member" feels right, as they both seem like any other (non co-op) service provider, except for the annual member meeting.
I didn't join either with an expectation of having a say in business matters.
