What Is It?

What is The People’s Business?

Commerce is an immensely powerful engine in creating prosperity throughout society. However, in recent years, there has been a growing disconnect between business and the people it serves, as large corporations increase their share of wealth whilst ordinary people struggle with a number of challenges to their standards of living. Progressives need to be able to present a new vision for the economy, where citizens are able to share in the wealth of business.

This should not be a binary choice between the discredited models of widespread state ownership or an unrestricted free market. Business needs to be trusted by the public to pursue the common good. These values are at the heart of cooperative ownership, and are already visible across Europe in the multitude of companies that operate under this model.

Cooperatives are controlled by their members, who can be employees, consumers, or even part of the local community. This form of ownership encourages these companies to prioritise ordinary people, in a way that listed firms, that are accountable to their shareholders, do not. Because of this, cooperatives are well placed to help tackle a number of the problems facing Europe and the world, from income inequality, to the housing crisis, to climate change. A cooperative approach to commerce can be at the heart of a progressive economic vision that works for ordinary people across the European Union.

To find out more about The People’s Business, please read our PDF report, watch the video above, read our Activist’s Guide, a Powerpoint presentation, policy summaries and draft speeches, or get in touch with us.