Journal of Co-operative Studies, 59(2), 41-53 | UK Society for Co-operative Studies

_{Open access}

_{Peer reviewed article}

_{Published online: November 2026}

Dreaming of “meaningful labour”: Notions of cooperativism and environmental sustainability in imagined intentional communities

Amber van Aurich,* Tim Mazzarol,** & Bruce Baskerville*

* University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

** University of Western Australia/ Burgundy School of Business, Groupe ESC Dijon, Bourgogne, France

Vol 59 No 2, pp. 41-53

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61869/BKXH4540

Abstract

This paper investigates the concepts of co-operativism and sustainability by linking dystopian and utopian scenarios with notions of co-operatives to gain insights into values, principles, motivations, and outlook. It examines co-operativism in addition to three feminist and anarchist imagined intentional communities: Anarres in Le Guin’s (1974) The dispossessed, Acorn in Butler’s (1993, 1998) Parable of the sower and Parable of the talents, and the San Francisco Bay Area in Starhawk’s (1993) The fifth sacred thing. These imagined intentional communities explore dystopian and utopian visions of co-operativism and sustainability within the genres of science and speculative fiction. This paper thematically analysed the fiction texts with supporting literature on co-operatives and mutual enterprises, generating a coding structure focused on four major codes of motivation, outlook, principles, and values. This paper finds imagined intentional communities and CMEs share a desire for meaningful, equitable, and engaging work.

How to cite tis article: van Aurich, A., Mazzarol, T., & Baskerville, B. (2026). Dreaming of “meaningful labour”: Notions of co-operativism and environmental sustainability in imagined intentional communities. Journal of Co-operative Studies, 59(2), 41-53. https://doi.org/10.61869/BKXH4540

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