The paper analyses Hermann Schulze-Delitsch’s contribution to the cooperative idea and economic thought of the second half of the 19th century. Schulze-Delitsch has recently been described as a leftish liberal at the exhibition about the German Labour Movement in Mannheim’s Technomuseum (2013), but was placed more centre with publications under the hospice of the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. During his life (1808-1883) he became the founder of cooperatives in Germany and various forms of associations. Schulze-Delitsch placed the main emphasis on self-help to deflect the danger that the industrialisation posed to small and medium sized companies. It is shown that liberal ideas were the main Leitmotifs for Schulze-Delitsch’s cooperatives. The paper illustrates Schulze-Delitzsch’s position with regards to trade unions, wage funds and political economy.