[jariel]

Mondragon employs almost 100K people in a 'nation' of 3.5M people. It's inexorably tied to the national struggle of 'Basque People' in their attempts to achieve some degree of economic autonomy while ostensibly 'controlled' by another group with whom they have had historical antagonisms.

If there were no 'Basque People' I submit there would be no Mondragon.

In Quebec, where I live, there's a similar dynamic, and a host of national entities: telecoms, energy, finance etc. were taken over in an ethnocentric fashion, quite literally stated by the managers of the organizations. As a non-Quebecer, when I opened my bank account at 'Desjardins' (French/Quebecois almost cooperative style bank), they referred to themselves as 'nous' (meaning 'us') and to myself as 'vous' (meaning you, plural), as though there was a clear distinction in their minds. Their employment at Desjardins bank is accepted at least some extent as a 'cause', tied to the nationalist movement. I'm not offended by it as I'm not really ethnically 'Quebecois' but the boundary lines were crystal clear.

This type of thing is common and normal in the world, something that 'New Worlders' often struggle with because we view things through a different lens. I think this causes us to misinterpret important dynamics, and not grasp what's actually happening with causes such as Mondragon, and certain kinds of socialized services in other European countries.