Restructuring of the Welfare State: The Double Movement Theory and Mondragon Cooperatives

The study titled “Restructuring of the Welfare State: The Double Movement Theory and Mondragon Cooperatives”, prepared with the valuable support of my dear friend Res. Asst. Burak Buluç, has been published as a book chapter in the volume Social Sciences in Theory and Practice 3.

This chapter investigates the structural transformation that welfare states have undergone since the 1980s and the impact of this process on fundamental values such as social justice, collective participation, and equality. Grounded in Karl Polanyi’s “double movement” theory, the study analyses the protective “counter-movements” and forms of solidarity that society develops in response to the expansion of the market economy. Within this theoretical framework, the Mondragon Corporation is examined as a tangible manifestation of the collectivist response emerging from the transformation of the welfare state. Through the case of Mondragon, the discussion focuses on how cooperatives function not only as economic actors but also as alternative mechanisms that preserve social cohesion amidst the social protection void created by market-oriented shifts.

To access the digital publication (ISBN: 978-625-6183-87-2), please click on the book cover image below.