Coops can earn a profit, but that's not their primary purpose, at least not the kind of coops I'm thinking of. The coops I'm familiar with exist to provide a service first and foremost (utility coops like electricity and phone service come to mind), and making a profit is secondary.
Having worked at a well know worker coop in the UK I do know what one is. And consumer coops where the ones that came historically after worker coops - originally to provide a retail outlet for worker coops goods.
but don't they normally pay a dividend in the USA?
And you are not going to run a high capital coop like a telco or electricity company with out making a decent excess of income over expenditure to service you capital needs
Sure, and I'm not here to argue the fine details of how coops are organized. My point is only that there are elements of a market economy that differ from the traditional "profits first, maximize shareholder value, evil corporation". Cooperatives are just one example of a somewhat different model. Actual "non profit" corporations, and "public benefit corporations" are also examples of that.
