Molly Scott Cato: We need a model with co-operation at its heart

Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato has called for a new economic model that has co-operation at its heart. One of the keynote speakers at the Ways Forward...

Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato has called for a new economic model that has co-operation at its heart. One of the keynote speakers at the Ways Forward conference, she said the global capitalist model was broken.

“We need to argue for social ownership – that is a key part of the new economy we need to build,” she said. The conference was taking place while world leaders were meeting in Davos for the World Economic Forum. “Davos demonstrates on a yearly basis the small number of people controlling the economy.”

Ms Cato also referred to the need to make sure corporations pay the right share of taxes and contribute back to the society. “We need to challenge corporate tax avoidance,” she said. In December, MEPs backed public Country-by-Country Reporting (CBCR), a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base and a more comprehensive definition of tax havens.

Ms Cato argued quantitative easing could be used to generate money for green infrastructure. “We need to reclaim the power to create money,” she said.

“The power of half a billion of us that make the single market gives huge power to resist corporate power but we need to use that power. We can do this through support for co-ops, a fair tax regime and quantitative easing […] The world is crying out for a new economic model, and the co-operative movement can guide the development of that new model.”

  • Catch up with all our coverage from the Ways Forward conference here.
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