I'm so happy and proud to be here. When I told my husband about this wonderful opportunity, he said, "TED Talk? Wow, I get to do that a lot around here. It's finally someone else's turn." So, yes, I happen to be married to a wonderful man named Ted, which is pretty rare in Finland, where I'm from. It's not a typical Finnish name at all, trust me.

能来这里令我既高兴又自豪！当我告诉我丈夫这个绝好机会时， 他说，“TED 演讲？哇， 我在这里经常讲呀。终于轮到他人讲了。” 是的，我碰巧嫁给了 一个叫 Ted 的好男人， 这个名字在我们芬兰非常罕见。真的，这不是典型的芬兰名字。

Myself, I'm a business professor, and I love teaching. But you know what? My students are fed up, they're really fed up with the way business is screwing up the environment and making wealth inequality worse, and putting money and profits above all else. And what really makes them mad is when I tell them about the cooperative movement. They're angry, because once they understand how cooperatives work, they feel like a secret solution has been kept hidden. Before I tell you more about why cooperatives are so great, I want to explain what they are.

我本人是商业教授，喜欢教书。但你知道吗？我的学生们受够了， 他们真的受够了 商业破坏环境的方式， 受够了商业加剧的财富不均、 以及把金钱和利润放在首位。而真正让他们发狂的， 是当我告诉他们合作运动的时候。他们很生气， 因为了解合作社的运作方式后， 觉得它像一个一直 被隐藏秘密解决方案。在告诉你更多有关合作社 为何如此伟大之前， 我先解释一下它们是什么。

A cooperative is an organization that is owned by its members, who are also its customer and decision maker. And unlike most businesses, where certain owners can buy more power and influence, in a cooperative, every member has one vote, which was a revolutionary idea back when the model was first introduced. A regular man, not to mention a woman, with no significant means or a prestigious position in a society, as an owner, an equal partner in business? Unheard of. Perhaps it's still a bit revolutionary.

合作社是由其成员共同拥有的组织， 他们既是客户也是决策者。与多数企业里某些所有者 可以购买更多权力和影响力不同， 在合作社中，每个成员只有一票， 当该模式首次推出时， 这是一个革命性想法。一个普通男人，更别提女人了， 在社会中没有显赫手段 或显赫的地位， 能成为一个所有者、 一个平等的商业伙伴吗？闻所未闻！也许它仍然有点革命性。

Cooperatives exist in a sweet spot between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. Their uniqueness is based on the idea of duality. They have two distinct but complementary roles. On one hand, they act like any other business and try to make money. But on the other hand, cooperatives are and do so much more. They are people-centered enterprises run by and for their members, and they try to achieve economical, but also social and cultural goals to benefit those members who are just regular people, like you and me.

合作社处于 盈利和非盈性世界间的最佳位置。其独特性基于二元性的思想， 它们有两个不同但互补的角色。一方面，他们的行为 与任何其他业务一样， 即努力赚钱；但另一方面，合作社 涵盖更广并且做得更多。它们是以人为本的企业， 由会员经营、为会员服务， 不但努力实现经济目标， 还有社会和文化目标， 使只是普通人的成员受益， 就像你我一样的普通人。

And what has happened for almost 200 years is that cooperatives have proven to make decisions with a view across generations, instead of quarter-to-quarter, to benefit more people and to anchor wealth in communities that might not otherwise attract investment, while still being competitive and innovative.

近 200 年来发生的一切已证明， 合作社从几代人的角度 出发来做出决定， 而不是按季度做决定， 来造福更多人、 将财富锚定在社区中， 否则可能不会在吸引投资的同时 仍具竞争力和创新性。

Sounds pretty good, right? I guess that's why, at the end of a class the other day, a student, all red and jazzed up, basically shouted at me. "I've always been a straight A student, done all the work, read all the books, and now you're telling me that all my life, I've missed hearing about a movement with this magnitude?" I get this a lot.

听起来不错吧？我想这是为何前几天课程结束时， 一位学生满脸通红、 兴奋不已地几乎冲我大喊， “我一直是全优学生， 做了所有作业、读了所有的书， 现在你才告诉我 这个我从没听过的大运动？” 这样的反馈还有很多。

The organized cooperative movement started in 1844, with the [Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ Society]. This was a group of weavers and artisans who, out of desperation, opened a store together, to sell things that they could neither get nor afford alone. The cooperative movement spread from there and became a global phenomenon. Many of the modern-day credit unions and farm credit systems you see in North America are descendants of the famous cooperative Raiffeisen system in Germany.

有组织的合作社运动 始于 1844 年， 由罗契戴尔公平先锋社发起。这是一群纺织工和工匠， 无奈之下一起开的一家店， 出售他们无法单独获得 或负担不起的东西。合作运动由此蔓延开来， 并成为全球现象。你在北美看到的许多现代信用合作社 和农业信贷系统 是德国著名合作瑞福森系统的后代。

And here in Finland, a man named Hannes Gebhard is considered to be the father of the Finnish cooperative movement. In the 19th century, he introduced cooperatives to help people tackle debt, poverty and unemployment. It turns out this is the foundation of a country known for its democratic values, high-quality education and the happiness of its citizens. And this line of impact of the cooperative movement can be found in other places in the world too. I'm proud to say that in relative terms, Finland is one of the most cooperative countries in the world. We have about 5.5 million people who have over seven million memberships in cooperatives that run everything from groceries to banks.

在芬兰，名为 Hannes Gebhard 的人 被认为是芬兰合作社运动之父。在 19 世纪，他引入了合作社， 帮助人们解决债务、 贫困和失业问题。原来这正是 一个以民主价值观、 优质教育和公民福祉著称的 国家的基础。合作社运动的这种影响 也可以在世界其他地方发现。我很自豪地说，相对而言， 芬兰是世界上最合作的国家之一。我们有大约 550 万人口， 在从食品杂货到银行的各种合作社中 拥有超过 700 万会员。

Each time I shop at our grocery cooperative, when I fill in my gas tank, eat at our jointly owned restaurants, stay at a hotel or buy clothes or hardware stuff, I get bonuses that can be up to five percent. And when I pay with our cooperative's bank card, I get an additional half percent off. And I know that when the cooperative is doing well, it's not funding a single person's luxury vacation in the Bahamas. Every year, a governance body comprised of elected representatives decides how any operating surplus will be used. Some of the money will go back to the members. For example, this year, our consumer cooperative, Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa, or PKO, as we call it -- is part of the S Group, which is the biggest cooperative group in Finland -- they had a surplus of two percent on members' purchases, and 12 percent return on money invested. When you add up the savings and the return, my family received more than 2,000 euros back, which is more than we spend on groceries in one month. Not to mention that our groceries are about seven percent cheaper than its main competitor.

每次在我们的食品杂货合作社购物、 给油箱加油、 在共同拥有的餐厅用餐、入住酒店、 或买衣服、五金件时， 我能得到最高达 5% 的奖金。当用我们合作社的银行卡付款时， 会再打九九五折。我知道当合作社运作良好时， 它不是在资助一个人 去巴哈马的豪华假期。每年，由选举产生的代表 组成的管理机构 决定如何使用营业盈余。部分盈余将返还给会员， 比如今年，我们的消费合作社 Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa， 我们简称为 PKO —— 它是 S 集团的一部分， S 集团是芬兰最大的合作集团—— 他们在会员购买上盈余 2%， 并有 12% 的投资回报率。当储蓄和回报相加时， 我家分到 2,000 多欧元， 比我们一个月花在 日用百货上的钱还多。更不用说了，我们的食品杂货价格 比主要竞争对手还便宜约 7%。

I'm a member-owner in three cooperatives, and my husband has four memberships: a consumer, a bank, an insurance and a water cooperative. We have two beautiful girls who are 10 and 12 years old, and they are also member-owners of the S Group. Their memberships cost us one hundred euros each. We want to pass on the legacy and teach them about the benefits of cooperatives early on. And of course, they are very happy about the yearly interest on cooperative capital.

我是三个合作社的会员， 我丈夫有四个会员资格：消费者、银行、 保险公司和水合作社。我们有两个漂亮女儿， 分别是 10 岁和 12 岁， 她们也是 S 集团的会员， 给她们购买会员是 100 欧/人。我们想传承遗产， 并尽早让她们了解合作社的益处。当然了， 她们对合作资金的年息 感到非常高兴。

But it's not just about us getting money back. It's about the greater good for our community. I'm not only talking about taxes and employment, even though our consumer cooperative is the biggest employer in the area. I'm talking about support for young people, sports, arts, university and cultural events.

但这不仅仅是我们能拿回钱， 还为了我们社区的更大利益。我不仅在谈论税收和就业—— 尽管我们的消费者合作社 是该地区最大的雇主—— 我还指对年轻人、体育、艺术、 大学和文化活动的支持。

For example, as a member of the board of PKO, a few years ago, we agreed to build a sports hall for Lieksa, which is a nearby city here, in the eastern part of Finland, belonging to our cooperative's operational area. After we built it, the city signed a very long-term rental agreement with us, so financially, the investment made sense. And of course, it was a major gesture to the local people, who now have proper facilities to do all kinds of sports. In another case, we ended up rejecting the investment proposal regarding building a senior house downtown. The idea was a very good one, but we declined, because it was a big housing complex requiring a lot of capital with a low expected investment return that would only serve a small part of the membership, less than one percent of our over 100,000 members, and therefore, we decided against it.

例如， 作为 PKO 的董事会成员， 几年前，我们同意为临近城市 Lieksa 市建造一个体育馆， 位于在芬兰东部， 属于我们合作社的运营区域。建好之后， 该市与我们签订了 超长期的租赁协议， 所以从财务上看， 这项投资是有道理的。当然，这对当地人是个重大举措， 他们现在有了进行 各种运动的适当设施。在另一种情况下， 我们最终拒绝了 在市中心建造高级住宅的投资建议。这个主意很好，但我们拒绝了， 因为这是一个很大的住宅区， 需要大量资金，但预期投资回报低， 只会为一小部分成员服务， 不足我们逾十万会员的 1%， 因此，我们决定否决。

In a cooperative, if we only emphasize profitability, the interests of the membership may quickly become secondary. On the other hand, a situation where too much consideration is given to the members' differing and changing interests may jeopardize business performance. So therefore, finding a balance is important. One role should not have priority over the other. Metaphorically speaking, cooperatives, by nature, have been given two solid feet, and as you know, it's much easier to stand on two feet than on one foot. Ensuring that is the board's most important task. It is a very cool system.

在合作社中，如果只强调盈利能力， 那么我们成员的利益 可能很快成为次要的。另一方面， 过多考虑 成员的不同和变化的利益 可能会危及经营业绩。因此，找到平衡点很重要。一个角色不应优先于另一个角色。打个比方， 合作社天生就被赋予两只坚实的脚， 正如你所知，两脚站立 比单脚站立容易得多。确保双脚站立是董事会最重要任务， 这是一个非常酷的系统。

That balance means that cooperatives can help us meet ambitious environmental goals. In Finland, for example, S Group aims at carbon negativity by the year 2025. REScoop.eu, a network of 1,900 energy cooperatives with way over one million members, is promoting community energy, which is key to a decarbonized economy and a crucial step in tackling climate change. This is about more than windmills and solar panels. Community energy can help overcome the urban and rural divide and close the gap between north and south, between rich and poor, because it empowers local people. Community energy leads to energy democracy, holding the promise of an economy and a society based on cooperation rather than competition within the boundaries of planet Earth.

这种平衡意味着合作社可以帮助我们 实现雄心勃勃的环境目标。以芬兰为例， 2025 年实现负碳 是 S 集团的目标。REscoop.eu 是由 1,900 个 能源合作社组成的网络， 拥有远超一百万的会员， 正在推进社区能源， 这是脱碳经济的关键， 也是应对气候变化的关键一步。这不单单是风车 和太阳能电池板， 社区能源可以帮助 克服城乡鸿沟、 缩小南北差距和贫富差距， 因为它赋予了当地人权力。社区能源带来能源民主， 在地球的边界内， 秉承以合作而非竞争为基础的 经济和社会的承诺。

What is so wonderful about the cooperative system worldwide is that while cooperatives may sell different products or services, the goal is still the same for all of them, to create sustainable businesses that benefit the people and the communities they serve, lasting for generations.

世界范围内的合作社制度 奇妙之处在于， 虽然合作社可能 销售不同的产品或服务， 但其目标都是相同的， 那就是创建可持续的企业， 造福其所服务的人民 和社区，世代相传。

This is also a significant global phenomenon, an invisible giant of the economy, resonating so well with the values of regular people, a form of business that recognizes that we people have other motivations and interests than purely and only economical ones. Today, there are more than three million cooperatives around the world, with over a billion members, employing 280 million people, which is 20 percent more than multinational companies. Cooperatives sell more than two trillion dollars' worth of goods and services. That number is larger than the GDP of Canada.

合作社是一个重要的全球现象， 是隐形的经济巨人， 它与普通人的价值观产生共鸣， 是一种认识到我们人类 除了纯粹的经济动机和兴趣之外， 还有其他动机和兴趣的商业形式。今天，全世界有超过 300 万个合作社， 拥有超过 10 亿会员， 雇佣 2.8 亿人， 比跨国公司高出 20%；合作社出售的商品和服务 价值超过 2 万亿美元， 高于加拿大的国内生产总值。

Doing good business and doing good at the same time really makes an excellent match, and this really works, because it's all about participation. And while having lots of people involved in any project can often make things a little bit more complicated, we can also often get better and fairer outcomes. We can create better businesses, if we truly include the people they serve. When we Finns travel abroad, we tend to brag about our sauna, sisu, fresh air, clean waters and endless forests. And of course, that the real Santa Claus comes from Finland. But what we really should be bragging about is our cooperatives. Because unlike capitalism, the cooperative movement is not broken. It just needs better marketing.

同时做好生意和有益的事真是绝配， 而且确实有效， 因为这完全取决于参与。虽然让很多人参与到任何项目中 往往令事情变得更复杂一点， 但我们经常可以得到 更好、更公平的结果。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。当我们芬兰人出国旅行时， 喜欢炫耀我们的芬兰浴、 芬兰人精神、新鲜空气、 清澈的海水和一望无际的森林；当然，真正的圣诞老人来自芬兰。但真正应该炫耀的是我们的合作社， 因为与资本主义不同， 合作社运动并没有崩溃， 它只是需要更好地营销。

标签：