Participatory Action Research as a Process and as a Goal

Mondragon Corporation defies economic theory. A federation of 120+ worker cooperatives in Spain's Basque region employs over 70,000 people with executive-to-worker pay ratios capped at 6:1 (versus 344:1 for typical US companies). Over 60 years, fewer than 5% of cooperatives have faced bankruptcy. When Fagor Electrodoméstico collapsed, 95% of its 2,000 workers were relocated within the Mondragon network within two weeks.

Greenwood, Whyte, and Harkavy's participatory action research documented how Mondragon's 'inverted conglomerate' governance works: ultimate authority lies with individual cooperative members, not top-down management. General Assemblies vote on major issues using one-member-one-vote principles. The Governing Council reports upward to workers, not shareholders.

Biologically, this is eusociality without queens. Mondragon cooperatives share resources, move workers between units during crises, and maintain collective solidarity—yet each cooperative retains autonomy. The governance architecture resembles mycorrhizal networks more than corporate hierarchies: distributed decision-making with shared resource channels.

The research showed why this model is difficult to replicate: it requires intense ongoing education, deep social trust built over decades, and cultural norms that predate the organization. Mondragon didn't design participatory governance—it grew from Father Arizmendiarrieta's 1956 technical school. The lesson isn't 'implement worker ownership'; it's that alternative governance structures require organic cultivation, not top-down installation.