Consommer pour le socialisme. Le Vooruit de Gand avant 1914

At the end of 1880, the socialist co-operative Vooruit set up in Ghent with a clear plan: to sell good bread at a fair price and create a profit that would benefit both the co-operators and the Belgian Workers’ Party (POB). This principle proved a perfect success, and after 1883 clothes, furniture, medicines, shoes, coal, and groceries were also sold. By 1913, Vooruit was a huge commercial and political force, not just in Ghent but throughout Belgium. This article considers how Vooruit oscillated between commerce and politics. Its image, as generally acknowledged, was red but its actions were purely commercial, to such a degree that there was no difference between Vooruit and an ordinary shop. As a result, this co-operative played a key role in helping the working class make a decisive transition from a rude and insecure life to the consumer society.