Anu Puusa: The case for co-ops, the invisible giant of the economy | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: Gia Hwang 校对人员: Carol Wang

I'm so happy and proud to be here.

能来这里令我既高兴又自豪！

When I told my husband about this wonderful opportunity,

当我告诉我丈夫这个绝好机会时，

he said, "TED Talk? Wow, I get to do that a lot around here.

他说，“TED 演讲？ 哇， 我在这里经常讲呀。

It's finally someone else's turn."

终于轮到他人讲了。”

So, yes, I happen to be married to a wonderful man named Ted,

是的，我碰巧嫁给了 一个叫 Ted 的好男人，

which is pretty rare in Finland, where I'm from.

这个名字在我们芬兰非常罕见。

It's not a typical Finnish name at all, trust me.

真的，这不是典型的芬兰名字。

Myself, I'm a business professor, and I love teaching.

我本人是商业教授，喜欢教书。

But you know what?

但你知道吗？

My students are fed up,

我的学生们受够了，

they're really fed up with the way business is screwing up the environment

他们真的受够了 商业破坏环境的方式，

and making wealth inequality worse,

受够了商业加剧的财富不均、

and putting money and profits above all else.

以及把金钱和利润放在首位。

And what really makes them mad

而真正让他们发狂的，

is when I tell them about the cooperative movement.

是当我告诉他们合作运动的时候。

They're angry,

他们很生气，

because once they understand how cooperatives work,

因为了解合作社的运作方式后，

they feel like a secret solution has been kept hidden.

觉得它像一个一直 被隐藏秘密解决方案。

Before I tell you more about why cooperatives are so great,

在告诉你更多有关合作社 为何如此伟大之前，

I want to explain what they are.

我先解释一下它们是什么。

A cooperative is an organization that is owned by its members,

合作社是由其成员共同拥有的组织，

who are also its customer and decision maker.

他们既是客户也是决策者。

And unlike most businesses,

与多数企业里某些所有者

where certain owners can buy more power and influence,

可以购买更多权力和影响力不同，

in a cooperative, every member has one vote,

在合作社中，每个成员只有一票，

which was a revolutionary idea back when the model was first introduced.

当该模式首次推出时， 这是一个革命性想法。

A regular man, not to mention a woman,

一个普通男人，更别提女人了，

with no significant means or a prestigious position in a society,

在社会中没有显赫手段 或显赫的地位，

as an owner, an equal partner in business?

能成为一个所有者、 一个平等的商业伙伴吗？

Unheard of.

闻所未闻！

Perhaps it's still a bit revolutionary.

也许它仍然有点革命性。

Cooperatives exist in a sweet spot

合作社处于

盈利和非盈性世界间的最佳位置。

between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds.

Their uniqueness is based on the idea of duality.

其独特性基于二元性的思想，

They have two distinct but complementary roles.

它们有两个不同但互补的角色。

On one hand, they act like any other business

一方面，他们的行为 与任何其他业务一样，

and try to make money.

即努力赚钱；

But on the other hand, cooperatives are and do so much more.

但另一方面，合作社 涵盖更广并且做得更多。

They are people-centered enterprises run by and for their members,

它们是以人为本的企业， 由会员经营、为会员服务，

and they try to achieve economical, but also social and cultural goals

不但努力实现经济目标， 还有社会和文化目标，

to benefit those members who are just regular people,

使只是普通人的成员受益，

like you and me.

就像你我一样的普通人。

And what has happened for almost 200 years

近 200 年来发生的一切已证明，

is that cooperatives have proven to make decisions

合作社从几代人的角度 出发来做出决定，

with a view across generations, instead of quarter-to-quarter,

而不是按季度做决定，

to benefit more people

来造福更多人、

and to anchor wealth in communities

将财富锚定在社区中，

that might not otherwise attract investment,

否则可能不会在吸引投资的同时

while still being competitive and innovative.

仍具竞争力和创新性。

Sounds pretty good, right?

听起来不错吧？

I guess that's why, at the end of a class the other day,

我想这是为何前几天课程结束时，

a student, all red and jazzed up, basically shouted at me.

一位学生满脸通红、 兴奋不已地几乎冲我大喊，

"I've always been a straight A student,

“我一直是全优学生，

done all the work, read all the books,

做了所有作业、读了所有的书，

and now you're telling me that all my life,

现在你才告诉我

I've missed hearing about a movement with this magnitude?"

这个我从没听过的大运动？”

I get this a lot.

这样的反馈还有很多。

The organized cooperative movement started in 1844,

有组织的合作社运动 始于 1844 年，

with the [Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ Society].

由罗契戴尔公平先锋社发起。

This was a group of weavers and artisans

这是一群纺织工和工匠，

who, out of desperation, opened a store together,

无奈之下一起开的一家店，

to sell things that they could neither get nor afford alone.

出售他们无法单独获得 或负担不起的东西。

The cooperative movement spread from there

合作运动由此蔓延开来，

and became a global phenomenon.

并成为全球现象。

Many of the modern-day credit unions and farm credit systems

你在北美看到的许多现代信用合作社

you see in North America

和农业信贷系统

are descendants of the famous cooperative Raiffeisen system in Germany.

是德国著名合作瑞福森系统的后代。

And here in Finland, a man named Hannes Gebhard

在芬兰，名为 Hannes Gebhard 的人

is considered to be the father of the Finnish cooperative movement.

被认为是芬兰合作社运动之父。

In the 19th century, he introduced cooperatives

在 19 世纪，他引入了合作社，

to help people tackle debt, poverty and unemployment.

帮助人们解决债务、 贫困和失业问题。

It turns out this is the foundation

原来这正是

of a country known for its democratic values,

一个以民主价值观、

high-quality education

优质教育和公民福祉著称的

and the happiness of its citizens.

国家的基础。

And this line of impact of the cooperative movement

合作社运动的这种影响

can be found in other places in the world too.

也可以在世界其他地方发现。

I'm proud to say that in relative terms,

我很自豪地说，相对而言，

Finland is one of the most cooperative countries in the world.

芬兰是世界上最合作的国家之一。

We have about 5.5 million people

我们有大约 550 万人口，

who have over seven million memberships

在从食品杂货到银行的各种合作社中

in cooperatives that run everything from groceries to banks.

拥有超过 700 万会员。

Each time I shop at our grocery cooperative,

每次在我们的食品杂货合作社购物、

when I fill in my gas tank,

给油箱加油、

eat at our jointly owned restaurants, stay at a hotel

在共同拥有的餐厅用餐、入住酒店、

or buy clothes or hardware stuff,

或买衣服、五金件时，

I get bonuses that can be up to five percent.

我能得到最高达 5% 的奖金。

And when I pay with our cooperative's bank card,

当用我们合作社的银行卡付款时，

I get an additional half percent off.

会再打九九五折。

And I know that when the cooperative is doing well,

我知道当合作社运作良好时，

it's not funding a single person's luxury vacation in the Bahamas.

它不是在资助一个人 去巴哈马的豪华假期。

Every year, a governance body comprised of elected representatives

每年，由选举产生的代表 组成的管理机构

decides how any operating surplus will be used.

决定如何使用营业盈余。

Some of the money will go back to the members.

部分盈余将返还给会员，

For example, this year, our consumer cooperative,

比如今年，我们的消费合作社

Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa,

Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa，

or PKO, as we call it --

我们简称为 PKO ——

is part of the S Group,

它是 S 集团的一部分，

which is the biggest cooperative group in Finland --

S 集团是芬兰最大的合作集团——

they had a surplus of two percent on members' purchases,

他们在会员购买上盈余 2%，

and 12 percent return on money invested.

并有 12% 的投资回报率。

When you add up the savings and the return,

当储蓄和回报相加时，

my family received more than 2,000 euros back,

我家分到 2,000 多欧元，

which is more than we spend on groceries in one month.

比我们一个月花在 日用百货上的钱还多。

Not to mention that our groceries are about seven percent cheaper

更不用说了，我们的食品杂货价格

than its main competitor.

比主要竞争对手还便宜约 7%。

I'm a member-owner in three cooperatives,

我是三个合作社的会员，

and my husband has four memberships:

我丈夫有四个会员资格：

a consumer, a bank, an insurance and a water cooperative.

消费者、银行、 保险公司和水合作社。

We have two beautiful girls who are 10 and 12 years old,

我们有两个漂亮女儿， 分别是 10 岁和 12 岁，

and they are also member-owners of the S Group.

她们也是 S 集团的会员，

Their memberships cost us one hundred euros each.

给她们购买会员是 100 欧/人。

We want to pass on the legacy

我们想传承遗产，

and teach them about the benefits of cooperatives early on.

并尽早让她们了解合作社的益处。

And of course,

当然了，

they are very happy about the yearly interest

她们对合作资金的年息

on cooperative capital.

感到非常高兴。

But it's not just about us getting money back.

但这不仅仅是我们能拿回钱，

It's about the greater good for our community.

还为了我们社区的更大利益。

I'm not only talking about taxes and employment,

我不仅在谈论税收和就业——

even though our consumer cooperative is the biggest employer in the area.

尽管我们的消费者合作社 是该地区最大的雇主——

I'm talking about support for young people, sports, arts,

我还指对年轻人、体育、艺术、

university and cultural events.

大学和文化活动的支持。

For example,

例如，

as a member of the board of PKO,

作为 PKO 的董事会成员，

a few years ago, we agreed to build a sports hall for Lieksa,

几年前，我们同意为临近城市 Lieksa 市建造一个体育馆，

which is a nearby city here, in the eastern part of Finland,

位于在芬兰东部，

belonging to our cooperative's operational area.

属于我们合作社的运营区域。

After we built it,

建好之后，

the city signed a very long-term rental agreement with us,

该市与我们签订了 超长期的租赁协议，

so financially, the investment made sense.

所以从财务上看， 这项投资是有道理的。

And of course, it was a major gesture to the local people,

当然，这对当地人是个重大举措，

who now have proper facilities to do all kinds of sports.

他们现在有了进行 各种运动的适当设施。

In another case,

在另一种情况下，

we ended up rejecting the investment proposal

我们最终拒绝了

regarding building a senior house downtown.

在市中心建造高级住宅的投资建议。

The idea was a very good one, but we declined,

这个主意很好，但我们拒绝了，

because it was a big housing complex

因为这是一个很大的住宅区，

requiring a lot of capital with a low expected investment return

需要大量资金，但预期投资回报低，

that would only serve a small part of the membership,

只会为一小部分成员服务，

less than one percent of our over 100,000 members,

不足我们逾十万会员的 1%，

and therefore, we decided against it.

因此，我们决定否决。

In a cooperative, if we only emphasize profitability,

在合作社中，如果只强调盈利能力，

the interests of the membership may quickly become secondary.

那么我们成员的利益 可能很快成为次要的。

On the other hand,

另一方面，

a situation where too much consideration

过多考虑

is given to the members' differing and changing interests

成员的不同和变化的利益

may jeopardize business performance.

可能会危及经营业绩。

So therefore, finding a balance is important.

因此，找到平衡点很重要。

One role should not have priority over the other.

一个角色不应优先于另一个角色。

Metaphorically speaking,

打个比方，

cooperatives, by nature, have been given two solid feet,

合作社天生就被赋予两只坚实的脚，

and as you know, it's much easier to stand on two feet than on one foot.

正如你所知，两脚站立 比单脚站立容易得多。

Ensuring that is the board's most important task.

确保双脚站立是董事会最重要任务，

It is a very cool system.

这是一个非常酷的系统。

That balance means that cooperatives can help us

这种平衡意味着合作社可以帮助我们

meet ambitious environmental goals.

实现雄心勃勃的环境目标。

In Finland, for example,

以芬兰为例，

S Group aims at carbon negativity by the year 2025.

2025 年实现负碳 是 S 集团的目标。

REScoop.eu, a network of 1,900 energy cooperatives

REscoop.eu 是由 1,900 个 能源合作社组成的网络，

with way over one million members,

拥有远超一百万的会员，

is promoting community energy,

正在推进社区能源，

which is key to a decarbonized economy

这是脱碳经济的关键，

and a crucial step in tackling climate change.

也是应对气候变化的关键一步。

This is about more than windmills and solar panels.

这不单单是风车 和太阳能电池板，

Community energy can help overcome the urban and rural divide

社区能源可以帮助

and close the gap between north and south,

克服城乡鸿沟、

between rich and poor,

缩小南北差距和贫富差距，

because it empowers local people.

因为它赋予了当地人权力。

Community energy leads to energy democracy,

社区能源带来能源民主，

holding the promise of an economy and a society

在地球的边界内，

based on cooperation rather than competition

秉承以合作而非竞争为基础的

within the boundaries of planet Earth.

经济和社会的承诺。

What is so wonderful about the cooperative system worldwide

世界范围内的合作社制度 奇妙之处在于，

is that while cooperatives may sell different products or services,

虽然合作社可能 销售不同的产品或服务，

the goal is still the same for all of them,

但其目标都是相同的，

to create sustainable businesses that benefit the people

那就是创建可持续的企业，

and the communities they serve, lasting for generations.

造福其所服务的人民 和社区，世代相传。

This is also a significant global phenomenon,

合作社是一个重要的全球现象，

an invisible giant of the economy,

是隐形的经济巨人，

resonating so well with the values of regular people,

它与普通人的价值观产生共鸣，

a form of business that recognizes

是一种认识到我们人类

that we people have other motivations and interests

除了纯粹的经济动机和兴趣之外，

than purely and only economical ones.

还有其他动机和兴趣的商业形式。

Today, there are more than three million cooperatives around the world,

今天，全世界有超过 300 万个合作社，

with over a billion members,

拥有超过 10 亿会员，

employing 280 million people,

雇佣 2.8 亿人，

which is 20 percent more than multinational companies.

比跨国公司高出 20%；

Cooperatives sell more than two trillion dollars' worth

合作社出售的商品和服务

of goods and services.

价值超过 2 万亿美元，

That number is larger than the GDP of Canada.

高于加拿大的国内生产总值。

Doing good business and doing good at the same time

同时做好生意和有益的事真是绝配，

really makes an excellent match,

而且确实有效，

and this really works, because it's all about participation.

因为这完全取决于参与。

And while having lots of people involved in any project

虽然让很多人参与到任何项目中

can often make things a little bit more complicated,

往往令事情变得更复杂一点，

we can also often get better and fairer outcomes.

但我们经常可以得到 更好、更公平的结果。

We can create better businesses, if we truly include the people they serve.

如果真正把所服务的人包括进来， 我们就能创造更好的企业。

When we Finns travel abroad,

当我们芬兰人出国旅行时，

we tend to brag about our sauna, sisu, fresh air,

喜欢炫耀我们的芬兰浴、 芬兰人精神、新鲜空气、

clean waters and endless forests.

清澈的海水和一望无际的森林；

And of course, that the real Santa Claus comes from Finland.

当然，真正的圣诞老人来自芬兰。

But what we really should be bragging about is our cooperatives.

但真正应该炫耀的是我们的合作社，

Because unlike capitalism, the cooperative movement is not broken.

因为与资本主义不同， 合作社运动并没有崩溃，

It just needs better marketing.

它只是需要更好地营销。

Thank you.

谢谢。