Rebuild better together

Let’s face it. In the quest for economic achievement, we have overlooked our wellbeing and the welfare of the world around us. We are finding out that mutual greed, and the quest for individualism has its inevitable consequences on our societies, our environment and our future.

Examples abound: housing, a basic human need, has become unaffordable and a source of crippling debt; the wealth gap is widening; hired work has become an expendable commodity.

Our current experiences are showing that an economy whose pillars are almost exclusively based on finance and profit is vulnerable indeed. We have a unique opportunity to pause the madness and seek to alter our focus. As Albert Einstein once stated: “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” It would be a tragic mistake for Malta if we were to attempt to rebuild our lives on the same shaky foundations our lives were being built upon before the pandemic struck.

Our economy needs to shift to a model where real growth is not just measured by the market yardstick, but by social wellbeing and respect for the environment; We all need to realise that the economy cannot just be built around big business investment. We need to focus on policies that target efforts at empowering people to work together, including entire communities. Communities should not be fodder to make a small group of people richer and ego-centric, but communities that can become better off by creating together.

Let’s think about it. Should a wide variety of vital services necessarily have to be provided solely for-profit companies? Can these also be provided by the community that shifts emphasis from profit to social viability? Can we provide community care through social enterprises that are owned by the same community they are out to serve? Can we provide homes that are cooperatively owned and built and run almost at cost, rather than being based on pure commercial speculation? Can our communities become protagonists in the creation of alternative energy and be better off in the process? Should workers be empowered enough to realise that rather than being hired hands, they can be the owners of the business they work in? Can working for a social cause provide employment and increase wealth sustainably?

All we need to do is look out to what is happening around the world to realise that we are not inventing the wheel here. One important tool for rebuilding better together is co-operative business. Cooperatives are democratic, people-centered enterprises that can effectively contribute to a fair, resilient and sustainable Malta. Around the world, 12% of humanity is a member of one of three million cooperatives: that’s one billion people. Together, these people, who are producers, users or workers, are democratically-run on a ‘one person, one vote’ principle. As businesses driven by values, not just profit, cooperatives share internationally agreed principles and act together to build a better world through cooperation. Putting fairness, equality and social justice at the heart of the enterprise, cooperatives around the world are allowing people to work together to create sustainable enterprises that generate long-term jobs and prosperity.

The beauty of cooperatives is that this model empowers persons and communities to be in control of their economic future. The economic and social benefits accrued by these ethical businesses, ‘stay in the communities where they are established. Profits generated are either reinvested in the enterprise or returned to the members.’ (ICA)

As a country, we need to be creative in identifying co-operative opportunities in different areas. On its part, the government needs to be more proactive in providing a more conducive environment for such economic activities to prosper, including a better legislative framework and a political vision that actively promotes co-operative initiatives. We need to focus our education system towards a more co-operative and collaborative aspect of working. We need to create a new generation of entrepreneurs and co-operators who will be the backbone of our social economy.

The Malta Co-operative Federation is working towards the setting up of cooperatives across a variety of economic sectors, apart from the rich variety of members it already has. Examples include housing, disability, social inclusion, education, health, renewable energy, the environment, the elderly, child care, sport, transport, IT, local services and others. The Federation has recently presented to the government its recommendations for Malta’s post-pandemic strategy. If we all get our heads out of the sand and look at opportunities for sustainable wealth and well-being in the eye, the future looks promising indeed.

Every first Saturday in July is World Co-ops Day. This year’s motto: rebuilding better together, is particularly relevant to Malta. Our success lies in realising, sooner rather than later, that shifting our focus on what really matters is the better option; and that doing this together is the key to achieving success. As International Co-operative Alliance President Ariel Guarco stated in his message: ‘For a long time, we have shown that it is possible to produce, consume, save, educate, serve and live together, while also prioritizing the wellbeing of people and the environment. Today, more than ever, an economic model with community leadership focused on the common good is necessary. The cooperative model is the answer.’