00100		Co-operatively owned groceries have the advantage
00200	to the consumer of being motivated to benefit the consumer
00300	by returning profits to him and by being careful not to deceive
00400	him.  When I first joined the Palo Alto Co-op in 1953 and
00500	when I rejoined it in 1963 on returning to the area, I hoped
00600	that co-operatives would eventually replace profit making
00700	stores in the grocery and other businesses.  At that time,
00800	I felt that the co-operative movement added to the freedom
00900	of choice I experienced as a consumer.
01000	
01100		Now some of the potential disadvantages of co-ops
01200	have begun to be realized.  This has come about, because
01300	the present climate of liberal opinion to which people
01400	inclined to organize and support co-ops belong, has adopted
01500	views and policies that restrict consumer choice in the
01600	name of doing good.  A profit making store, on the other
01700	hand, will sell whatever people want to buy unless there
01800	are very strong pressures to the contrary.
01900	
02000		My specific example is the Co-op's decision not to
02100	sell soft drinks in no-return bottles as exemplified
02200	by the enclosed reply to my inquiry on this point.  The
02300	reply is arrogant and self-righteous and reflects the
02400	self-righteous and arrogant attitude of the present day
02500	consumer movement of which the Co-op is part.  In my
02600	opinion, the "ecological" objections to no-return bottles
02700	are mistaken, and the position was taken as a symbolic
02800	gesture rather than as a result of a careful analysis.
02900	The view has prevailed, because political and commercial
03000	interests have been cowed by intensity of feeling and
03100	threats of retaliation by the ecological movement rather
03200	than by the force of argument.  In fact, the ecological
03300	movement feels little need for rational justification
03400	of its actions whenever and wherever it is in a position
03500	to dictate.
03600	
03700		Returning to the Co-op, the California Avenue
03800	Center Council has decided that no-return bottles are
03900	bad and has decideπ to ban them.  Quite possibly, a majority
04000	of members would agree with this decision, although I don't
04100	recall the issue having been decided by the membership.
04200	It is the membership's right to decide to ban no-return
04300	bottles either by its own action or by not objecting when
04400	the elected Council does so on its own initiative.
04500	However, whether the majority supports it or not, restriction
04600	of freedom of choice in response to fanaticism is harmful,
04700	and I have concluded that, at present, the Co-op's potential
04800	for harm by restricting people's choice is worse than the
04900	occasional fraud occurring in commercial stores.  That there
05000	is great potential for harm is evidenced by the Co-op's
05100	response to requests from members to ban this or that.  The
05200	response usually is that it is not practical for the Co-op
05300	to ban the item in question as long as other stores carry it.
05400	If the market in the United States ever became dominated
05500	by peope of such prohibitionist mentalities great harm would
05600	result, and developments in the FDA and the FTC show that
05700	this is a real possibility.
05800	
05900		In order to emphasize this point, I have decided to
06000	terminate my ten-year membership number 2367 in the Co-op and
06100	request my $10 back.  I hope that at some future time, the
06200	co-operative movement will come to regard freedom of choice
06300	more highly, and I will be able to rejoin.
06400	
06500		Naturally, I would be pleased if the Co-op would print
06600	this letter or representative excerpts in its Bulletin so that
06700	the issues would be raised.  In any case, I hope you will
06800	distribute copies to the members of the Center Council.  As I
06900	see it, the issues are the following:
07000	
07100		1. Is the co-operative and onsumer movement heading
07200	infringing on people's rights to buy what they want?
07300	
07400		2. Is not the willingness of stores to sell whatever
07500	people want with very few restrictions our main assurance
07600	that innovation will occur and that fluctuations of opinion
07700	will not result in harm?
07800	
07900		3. Wasn't the particular decision to ban no-return
08000	bottles made, except for practical considerations of timing,
08100	without adequate consideration of whether the arguments were
08200	really sound?
08300	
08400		If the council is interested in discussing any of these
08500	issues, I would be glad to take part, but I am not interested
08600	if someone merely wishes to try to mollify a disgruntled member.
08700	
08800					Sincerely yours,
08900	
09000	
09100					John McCarthy