Mondragon exists as a concrete, functioning and profitable enterprise. Aggressive expansion in response to community needs is seen as a virtue. The complex techniques of enterprise creation are described in detail. Also analyzed is their freedom from bankruptcy. The genius of Don Jos Maria was to construct out of these elements an original synthesis which proved to be applicable to the world in which he lived.
Syntheses are extremely important for the advancement of knowledge.
The synthesis of ideas behind Mondragon is important because it triggered a collaboration among a variety of institutions that are normally divided and in competition. With the fall of the communist systems in Eastern Europe these questions are important. An extremely simplistic attitude might assume that the capitalist model has 'won'. However, problems like chronic unemployment, pollution, and events such as the Los Angeles riots, indicate that traditional capitalist systems have not provided a formula for human wellbeing. An examination of its success in the Mondragon complex reveals that it is neither simply cooperative nor simply capitalist.