【摘要】合作社制度经过160多年的发展，已经在世界范围内得到普及和发展，成为许多国家发展农业经济的重要组织形式，但是由于各国社会经济环境的复杂性和资源禀赋的不同，国际组织和世界各国对合作社的认识和定位存在差异。尤其是近几十年，西方发达国家合作社的发展面临一些新的挑战，农业生产渐渐采取了工业化的生产方式和产业化的组织方式，农产品市场变得更加开放，市场竞争也更加激烈。因而，合作社开始更加注重其经济效率，社会和政治因素即社会公平理念有所消退，使合作社的组织特征越来越接近于企业。而我国的农民合作社发展环境与西方有很大的区别，并不能完全照搬西方合作社的发展路径。因此，研究我国需要何种性质的农民合作社以及合作社的发展方向，对我国农民合作社的发展具有重要的指导意义和实践价值。

　　本文从历史的视角出发，回顾和总结了国内外合作运动的历程，系统的研究了合作社的内涵和本质特征，阐释了合作社性质和功能的多重性，并釆用比较分析和结构分析的方法剖析了我国三种模式合作社的组织性质。

　　论文在梳理了国内外农民合作经济组织发展实践的基础上，总结归纳了理论界关于农民合作经济组织的主要理论观点，认为合作社是一种特殊的企业组织形式，是一个社员拥有和控制，从中获取服务并取得收益的组织。而我国的农民专业合作社具有独特的外部特征与内部特征。在强调合作社经济功能的同时，应更加注重发挥合作社的社会功能，使其成为调节社会分配，促进社会公平，帮助广大农民摆脱贫困的重要手段。

　　【Abstract】Over 160 years development, with the wide spread and development of cooperative system in the world, the cooperative system have become an important organization in developing the agricultural economy. But, there are some different understanding of cooperative in international organizations and many countries because of the difference between the social and economic environment and resources. Especially in recent decades, the development of cooperatives facing some new challenges in Western developed countries. Agricultural production has gradually replaced the industrial production and industrial organization, agricultural markets become more open, market competition is more intense. Thus, the cooperatives began to pay more attention to its economic efficiency, social and political factors, the concept of social equity has subsided, the organization of cooperatives is becoming more and more close to the enterprise. Chinese cooperative development environment is different from the West and so we can not completely copy the path of Western development of cooperatives. Therefore, the study that China needs what nature of cooperatives and the direction of development cooperatives has great guiding significance and practical value.

　　This article is from a historical perspective, reviews and summarizes the course of the cooperative movement at home and abroad, studies the connotation and the essential characteristics of the cooperatives, explains that the cooperative nature and function is of multiplicity ,analysis the organizational nature of three modes of cooperatives in China.

　　This paper hackles the practice of domestic and foreign cooperative organization, summaries the main theoretical point of cooperative economic organizations, cooperatives are special form of enterprise. It is a members owned and controlled organization' from which members access services and obtain proceeds . Chinese cooperatives has a unique external features and internal features. When we emphasize the economic functions of cooperatives, we should pay more attention to the social function of cooperatives, making it becomes an important means of adjusting the social distribution ,promoting social justice and help the majority of fanners out of poverty.

　　【关键字】农民合作社；组织性质；价值功能

　　【Key words】 Farmers Cooperation; Nature of Organization;Value and Function