Cooperativism as an Institutional Alternative to the Ecological Limits of Economic Growth

Abstract

This article examines cooperativism as an institutional alternative for addressing the ecological limits of the contemporary economic growth model. Based on ecological economics, particularly the contributions of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, it assumes that every productive process involves irreversible transformations of energy and matter, increasing entropy and imposing biophysical limits on economic expansion. In dialogue with the framework of Karl Polanyi, the study discusses the need to reorganize institutional forms of production in order to re-embed the economy within social and ecological relations. The research adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach, based on a systematized literature review focused on ecological economics, economic sociology, territorial development and agroecology. The analysis demonstrates that the dominant economic model, driven by continuous expansion of production and consumption, intensifies pressure on natural resources and deepens socio-environmental tensions. In this context, cooperativism emerges as an institutional form capable of articulating economic, social and territorial dimensions through democratic governance and the pursuit of collective interests. The article concludes that cooperativism represents a relevant alternative for reorganizing the relationships between economy, society and nature under ecological constraints.