The proclamation by the United Nations that 2012 would be the International Year of Co-operatives represents a milestone in the history of the international co-operative movement. It reflects the growth and renewal of co-operatives globally during the past decade and a half, whether the focus is on financial co-operatives in Britain or producer co-operatives across Africa. Co-operatives have proved resilient in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008-9 compared to the investor led business and financial companies which have been found profoundly wanting, financially and morally. The contributions to The Hidden Alternative demonstrate that co-operation offers a real and much needed alternative for the organisation of human economic and social affairs, one that should establish its place at the forefront of public and academic discussion and policy making.

The book includes chapters on education, fair trade, politics and governance, planning and sustainability and on how co-operatives have coped with the global economic crisis.

Anthony Webster is Head of History at Liverpool John Moores University

Alyson Brown is Reader in History at Edge Hill University.

David Stewart is Senior Editor in History at the University of Central Lancashire

Linda Shaw is a Vice Principal at the Co-operative College

John K. Walton is Ikerbasque Research Professor in the Department of Contemporary History at the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao