Abstract

Among the countless forms of co-operative enterprise and along the historic path that led to the definition of the doctrine of ends and means of cooperation, the name and work of Charles Gide remain an essential point of reference to understand the physiognomy of the cooperative movement. Main theorist of the "Ecole de Nîmes", Gide was a leading proponent of the social economy and cooperative system, and a fervent supporter of association for the needs of its members, rather than for the return on capital.