In purely practical terms, restricting membership is bad business. It denies potential members and equity investors access to an enterprise that needs broad support to be successful. In his pamphlet, Rochdale Ethics, Joel Welty points out that this principle gives co-operators the responsibility of accepting others as individuals, no matter what their background, religious, or political persuasion. Private businesses, on the other hand, discourage new owners, who must buy stock at the going market rate. Open membership lays the foundation for cooperative democracy, mutual aid and responsibility and true freedom of choice.
Cooperative societies are democratic organizations.
Their affairs should be administered by persons elected or appointed in a manner agreed by the members and accountable to them. This principle, probably more than any other, insures the continuing cooperative character of an organization. An individual or small group can control an entire organization. Each member can exercise power equal to every other member. The principle also makes available the combined wisdom of the membership to the co-op as a whole.