It's TED Talks Daily. I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

On today's show, we're featuring a Finnish enthusiast of co-ops or cooperatives.

If you're unfamiliar, a new pusa lays out what these people-centered, membership-run enterprises are,

how they work, and how cooperatives can be both profitable and a path to addressing

wealth inequality across the globe.

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 a 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. I 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 the business is growing 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 corporatives work, they feel like a secret solution has been kept hidden. Before I tell you more

about why corporatives are so great, I want to explain what they are. 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 and equal partner in business unheard of. Perhaps it's still a bit revolutionary.

Corporatives exist in a sweet spot

between the for-profit and non-profit worlds.

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