3 is the magic number

The chant of ‘three is the magic number’ is ingrained in my psyche from De la Soul in the nineties, but it’s so relevant in so many different areas of interest.  It’s said that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things.  The Latin phrase “omne trium perfectum” (everything that comes in threes is perfect or, every set of three is complete) conveys this idea, while also (appropriately) using exactly three words!

The trilogy continues………………3 wise men; the good the bad and the ugly; sex, lies and videotape; veni, vidi, vici; three little pigs; wine, women and song; location, location, location; Goldilocks and the three bears; and of course in the Co-operative College spirit - education, education, education!

So it was particularly fascinating to read the new release from Co-operatives UK – “The Co‑operative Economy 2012” which is a report on the annual state of the co‑operative sector.

http://www.uk.coop/documents/co-operative-economy-2012

The report shows us that the number 3 is a significant strand in co-operation as we have:

• Values
• Principles
• Ethics

As we delve deeper, it’s interesting to note the co-operative economy only ever delivers on the triple bottom line.  Co-operative businesses are designed:

• to benefit members
• to benefit society
• to benefit the environment

Even more interesting is that those co-operative businesses remain stable and strong by:

• sharing ownership
• sharing profits
• sharing control

A co-incidence or fate?  In this time of austerity, perhaps the co-operative model has more than a triple benefit?  Check out the ‘three steps forward’ in the report to see the contemporary relevance.

So if 3 really is the magic number perhaps the only decent thing to do is leave you with my 3 interesting facts of the week from the report:

• 3 times as many people in the world are members of co-operatives than individual shareholders.

• 3 billion people worldwide secure their livelihoods through co-ops

• 3 out of 4 Fairtrade goods are produced by co-ops of smallholder farmers and producers

Of course I welcome your comments, compliments and criticisms on this blog, because I am after all once, twice, three times a lady!!

Published On: July 24, 2012

Written By: Sue

Filed Under: Blog Category

Tags: co-operative college, co-operative economy, education, three