Co-operatives are closing the inequality gap

Co-operatives are the only form of social organization known to have internationally agreed values and principles that center themselves around equality. In 1995, the Statement on the Co-operative Identity was made to capture the values of co-operative business. These were values of community wealth and prosperity.

Co-operatives buy and sell goods and services, but they focus on the members needs, not their desires. These profits may become a surplus for learning and research endeavors. These enterprises give new definition to the relationship between labour and capital, and they manifest an economic endeavor that is about collective wealth.

Communities can look to co-operatives to take down the existing structure of accumulated wealth. Citizen movements and public policy are starting to accept the co-operative business model and move towards co-operatives as an engine for economic development that respects equality and equity.

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Source & Copyright: Corporate Knights