An enormous case of such closure came at the end of the Spanish Civil War, where around 1.8 million people worked in the co-operative sector and all were forced to privatize with the victory of Franco.
es.wikipedia.org › Revolución social española de 1936↗

There have been other cases I know of in Spain, Dominican Republic and Ecuador (or maybe Bolivia) but I don't have those details to hand right now. Banks, agricultural co-ops and retail organizations have been bought out in this way.

On a morte personal note, since you don't know a single thing about how I spend my time, I find it curious that you feel qualified to tell me how it's best served. Frankly, it might be considered a bit arrogant to tell other adults what to do with their time.

As for what I do with this precious time of mine, I already convince socialists to take on board co-operative systems whenever I can, but in fact I'm much more a learner than a teacher in that respect, so I find myself listening more than explaining when it comes to meetings or discussions on the subject.

Right now I have been engaged in trying to convince Americans not to be so afraid of either the word or the concept of socialism, and not to be so attached to the concept of capitalism, a socioeconomic system which has effectively ruined their country's future, if not the whole world's. This effort is indeed a waste of time for most of those over 50, but is a lot more succesful with younger people, many of whom have seen that the existing system offers them no secure employment, no home and no prospect of raising a family. Since older people are unlikely to change their minds abourt anything, this is fine.

I feel that there isn't much more to be said on this issue, so thanks for the discussion and try not to be too overbearing with suggestions about other people's time and aims in future.