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The origins of co-operative social theory are to be found in a mix of Early Christian practice, later radical Christian ideas from the European Reformation, Enlightenment Philosophy, and pragmatic approaches to economic and social problems. Despite this possibly unpromising pedigree from a Catholic perspective it has been recognised that Co-operatives attempt to establish democracy, distributive justice and community. Co-operatives have, therefore, since the nineteenth century played a significant role in the practical expression of Catholic Social Theory. The working definition of the co-operative business and its management proposed by the author as an ideal type shows a clear differentiation from other types of business. Yet co-operatives share in common with their rival’s economic goals for the provision of goods and services to customers within a market economy, whether regulated or unregulated. The paper argues that co-operative principles may be said to underpin the idea of the good company in Catholic Social Theory at least as completely as in other ideal types of business. The paper discusses the underpinnings of co-operative social theory and the model of the ideal co-operative business in terms of the history of co-operative development and the mixed results that co