Why Do We Always Remember the Bad Stories When We Hear “Cooperative”?

When a property developer fails to keep a promise, we talk about that developer. When a cooperative fails to keep a promise, we question the cooperative movement.

“A cooperative? Be careful.”

You have probably heard that before. It is usually followed by the story of someone an acquaintance knows: unfinished construction, repeated requests for money, a home never delivered, a lawsuit that dragged on for years…

These stories involve real harm. People have lost money, time, and trust. We cannot explain the value of cooperatives by dismissing those experiences.

But we cannot get very far by treating every organisation that carries the same label as responsible for someone else’s unfinished work, either.

And there is a possibility we may be overlooking: Perhaps we remember successful cooperatives less often because their work comes to an end. The stories of troubled projects, however, go on for years.

Why Do Housing Cooperatives Close?

The legal framework governing housing cooperatives in Türkiye offers an interesting starting point for this question.

Under Article 81 of Cooperatives Law No. 1163, construction cooperatives are deemed to have fulfilled their purpose and are dissolved once the work specified in their articles of association has been completed and the homes or commercial premises have been registered in their members’ names.

There is an exception: if the cooperative changes its purpose through a duly adopted amendment to its articles of association after registration, the dissolution provision does not apply. So not every cooperative has to close immediately just because the keys have been handed over. However, once its purpose has been fulfilled, the default course envisaged by the law is dissolution and liquidation. Relevant legislation: Law No. 7339, Article 11

For an organisation established to carry out a specific project, there is an understandable logic to this. The work is completed, the accounts are settled, and the organisation comes to an end.

But how does that same process play out in people’s memories?

Those Who Receive Their Homes Move On. The Stories of Those Who Do Not Keep Going.

Think of a housing cooperative that has completed its work properly.

The members have moved into their homes. The title deeds have been transferred. Liquidation has been completed. People now talk less about the cooperative itself and more about the kitchen, their child’s school, and everyday matters in the apartment building.

Success has become part of everyday life.

Now think of an unfinished project. Every new request for payment, postponed handover date, or lawsuit brings the cooperative’s name back into the conversation. It is discussed within families, passed on to friends, and shared on social media.

A successful project can fade into the background while a troubled one remains in the spotlight.

This does not mean that all cooperatives still operating are troubled. Such a claim would be both wrong and unfair.

But we need to ask:

Do we form our opinions about cooperatives by looking at the full range of examples, or by listening to the stories that stay with us the longest?

This is an issue worth researching. It cannot be the sole explanation for distrust of cooperatives. Still, the fading visibility of success clearly deserves as much attention as the prominence of problems.

Imagine a Startup That Is Expected to Dissolve After Its First Success

People have come together. They have contributed money, taken responsibility, and made decisions. Over time, they have learned to work together. They have corrected their mistakes and seen a project through to completion.

If we heard a story like this about a startup, we would immediately ask: “What is the next project?”

For a housing cooperative, however, that same success can mean that its founding purpose has been fulfilled.

This is partly where the phrase “success is being punished” comes from. We are not talking about a legal penalty. But a community that has learned to work together has to find a separate path to take its next step.

Because when the building is finished, the experience people have gained does not disappear.

Managing a shared budget, procuring services, resolving disagreements, being accountable… None of these skills is easy to learn. How that experience can be passed on to new cooperatives, new services, or other shared needs deserves as much discussion as the completion of the project itself.

We regard completing a building as a success. How much attention do we give to the future of the organisation that made that success possible?

Are Cooperatives Only About Building Homes?

Think of sugar beet growers organising together. Think of agricultural development cooperatives, people producing and marketing their goods collectively, and communities working together to meet shared needs.

When we bring these examples into the conversation, the meaning of the word “cooperative” expands.

We begin to talk about access to markets for producers, sharing costs for small businesses, and organising essential services together as a community.

We cannot fit all of this into the story of an unfinished building.

To understand a problem within a cooperative, we need to examine its management, finances, oversight, and commitments. But when we say, “That is just how cooperatives are,” the examination ends before it even begins.

What is more, this generalisation obscures the real causes of the harm people have suffered. Which decision was wrong? Who failed to account for their actions? What information was withheld from members? Why did oversight fail?

We cannot find the answers in the organisation’s name.

Why Are We Discussing This as Marmara Solidarity and Services Cooperative?

Marmara Solidarity and Services Cooperative is not a housing or construction cooperative. Yet when we introduce ourselves, the word “cooperative” alone can bring to mind unfinished housing projects and past disappointments.

We raise this issue because that association affects how people perceive us before they have learned about our purpose or activities. Sometimes, we find ourselves answering questions rooted in other organisations’ experiences rather than discussing our own work. 

Sometimes, before we can discuss our own objectives and work, we have to answer questions arising from problems experienced in other cooperatives. Someone who has not yet got to know us already has another cooperative’s story firmly in mind.

We have no objection to caution. It is entirely natural for people to ask questions, request documents, and examine the answers they receive.

Nor does having “solidarity” in a cooperative’s name oblige anyone to trust it automatically. Trust develops over time, when words and actions align.

Our request is simple: Ask us questions about what we do.

Assess us through our purpose, activities, decisions, and responsibilities. Let harm suffered elsewhere not become a judgement about us before the conversation has even begun.

This approach should apply to all cooperatives. Distinguishing well-managed organisations from poorly managed ones is only possible by looking closely at each of them.

How Is Trust in Cooperatives Built?

A blog post cannot undo years of distrust on its own. Building trust requires clear information, understandable responsibilities, and accountable management.

Cooperatives have work to do here, too. They must explain clearly what membership means and what rights and obligations it brings. They should be able to discuss their problems and answer questions while also sharing their successes.

If the public hears only stories of people being let down, we also need to make the experience of completed projects visible. We need to learn whose needs were met, how many people benefited, how the work was accomplished, and which mistakes were corrected along the way.

The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives. Such occasions are valuable for drawing attention to the subject. Lasting change, however, depends on what we do in everyday life after the celebrations are over. United Nations announcement

When we encounter a new cooperative, do we listen? Do we share successful examples as readily as bad news? Do we direct our criticism at a specific practice or at an entire model of collective organisation?

As Marmara Solidarity and Services Cooperative, we want this conversation to take place. With questions, criticism, and an understanding that each organisation is responsible for its own actions.

To change the first story that comes to mind when we hear “cooperative,” we first need to listen to more stories.

Which cooperative story comes to your mind? And is that story enough to understand every cooperative?