Ideas worth spreading

The case for co-ops, the invisible giant of the economy

1,246,927 views | Anu Puusa • TED@BCG

Think capitalism is broken? Try cooperativism, says co-op enthusiast and researcher Anu Puusa. She lays out how cooperatives -- businesses owned, operated and controlled by their members -- can both make money and have a positive impact on the environment and local communities. With co-ops, Puusa says, doing good business and doing good at the same time becomes possible.

Think capitalism is broken? Try cooperativism, says co-op enthusiast and researcher Anu Puusa. She lays out how cooperatives -- businesses owned, operated and controlled by their members -- can both make money and have a positive impact on the environment and local communities. With co-ops, Puusa says, doing good business and doing good at the same time becomes possible.

Discover how cooperatives are building a better world.

Learn more about the effort to promote the cooperative business model in Europe.

About the speaker

Anu Puusa

Co-ops enthusiast

See speaker profile

Cooperative enthusiast Anu Puusa wants to spread the word about co-ops -- and their potential as a sustainable business model that achieves long-term social, economic and environmental goals.

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The work of George Jacob Holyoake

For example, The History of the Rochdale Pioneers (published 1857, updated in 1892); and The History of Co-operation (published in 1875 and 1879; combined and revised in 1906).

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The work of Ian Macpherson

For example, "Co-operative principles for the 21st century", published by the International Co-operative Alliance in 1995.

William Pascoe Watkins | Holyoake Books, 1986 | Book

Co-operative Principles: Today and Tomorrow

Anu Puusa, Mönkkönen Kaarina and Varis Antti | Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 2013 | Article

"Mission lost? Dilemmatic dual nature of co-operatives"

Anu Puusa, Kirsi Hokkila and Antti Varis | Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 2016 | Article

"Individuality vs. Communality – A new dual role of co-operatives?"

Anu Puusa and Saastamoinen Sanna | Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 2021 | Article

"Novel ideology, but business first?"

About TED Institute

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Discover how cooperatives are building a better world.

Learn more about the effort to promote the cooperative business model in Europe.