<論説>一九世紀中葉から二〇世紀初頭におけるイギリス協同組合運動の展開と言語

Abstract

本稿は、近代イギリスにおける協同組合運動に関して、従来の社会経済史的叙述からは距離を置き、言語の観点からの新たな研究をさらに発展させ、運動が拡大した背景を明らかにした。運動が急速に拡大した一九世紀後半から第一次世界大戦前までの時期を対象に、「自助」「民主主義」「資本主義」「社会主義」という四つの言語が、運動においてどのように広まったか、また運動に関わった様々な立場の人々によってどのように用いられたのかを分析した。その結果、これらの言語は、多様な意味を付与され、各人の目的のために様々な使い方をされ彼らのアイデンティティ構築に寄与したが、同時に、共通の言語として運動のまとまりを強固にする役割を果たしたことが明らかになった。協同組合運動は、時代の流行の言語をうまく取り込んだことで、多様な人々を惹きつけ結びつけることができたため、ヴィクトリア時代を代表する一大潮流となりえたのである。

This article challenges the received social economic history of the modern British co-operative movement and tries to consider the background of the expansion of the movement by adopting and further developing new work analysing co-operative language. In order to do so, this paper shows how the four terms, "self-help", "democracy", "capitalism" and "socialism", spread and how various people involved in the movement used this language from 1850 to the eve of the First World War. In order to review the basic facts for understanding this study, the first chapter deals with the chronology of the British (consumer) co-operative movement and the system employed by two societies, the Co-operative Wholesale Society and the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, which this research analyses. The movement rapidly expanded after the second half of the 19th century, and then in the beginning of the 20th century, cooperative members entered politics. Also in the first chapter, the unique features of co-operative management, the way of becoming a member, and the dividend system are clarified by an analysis of contemporary materials. The consumer co-operatives were societies by the consumers and for the consumers. They had a trading system that differed from that of private companies, and was based on the two principles: (i) self-help, implying the aim of independence for the co-operative members both materially and mentally (ii) democracy, meaning members' participation in the management of the organization. The second chapter examines the remarks of people in the co-operative movement and demonstrates the way the terms "self-help" and "democracy" were used by them. Newspaper articles on the movement or writings by middle-class activists and co-operative members are examined in this section. The result is that the word "self-help" was given a meaning peculiar to the movement as well as being employed with the meaning generally used in Victorian society. In the society it meant that people should live independently without relying on state support, but in the movement it also meant mutual help implying that working-class people had to help each other to improve their own lives. As for the word "democracy", people used it to signal their intent that they would participate the co-operative management under the principle "one man, one vote" and enjoy freedom and equality. Though these meanings were shared within the movement, each gave the words different meanings suitable for their own purposes. As a result, the definitions of the term, "self-help" and "democracy", became ambiguous. However, these two words nevertheless functioned as the common language of the co-operative movement. They helped to construct people's identities and played a vital role in strengthening the unity of the movement.

The third part considers the way the two terms, "capitalism" and "socialism", were used by analyzing remarks of the co-operative proponents such as members or middle-class activists and of people outside the cooperative movement such as business people and socialists who were opposed to the movement. The proponents used the words, "capitalism" and "socialism", in order to criticize business people and socialists, for the proponents sought to realize a new society which would differ from either capitalism or socialism, which justified state intervention in the market. The definitions of these words were obscure even among the proponents. Also, business people used the word, "capitalism", and socialists, the word, "socialism", to criticize the co-operatives. In the beginning of the 20th century, however, the meaning of "socialism" changed among the cooperative members, and they began to insist that the movement should aim toward socialism. At the time more and more people in Victorian society recognized the importance of the welfare state and thought it inevitable that state should intervene in the market. This trend influenced the shift of the movement and the members changed their goal to maintain their identity under the new situation. The words "capitalism" and "socialism" also functioned as a common language and contributed to constructing identities of both supporters and opponents of the movement. Critical discourses from outside the co-operatives also played an important role in strengthening the unity of the movement. The following is the conclusion of this paper: In modern Britain, self-help was promoted as what economic life should be, and democracy was recognized as a basic principle of society. More and more people were struggling to realize these concepts. Moreover, against serious problems caused by laissez-faire economic policy, people began to consider what a new economy or society should be and discussed actively capitalism and socialism. It was these social trends that the various actors involved in the co-operative movement utilized and manipulated for their own purposes. The reason the movement spread widely during the Victorian era was that this popular language attracted people to the co-operatives and linked these same people together.