The Cooperation Generation: Building What We Were Never Given

We are living in a time of profound paradox. While the creation of immense wealth through technology and finance has become easier than ever before, the prospect of securing basic life milestones—such as home ownership—has grown increasingly distant for the majority of young people. Market speculation, or access to privileged information today can produce more wealth in a single afternoon than decades of honest labour.

Similarly, public trust in institutions is declining, inequality is rising, and many feel locked out of systems that were never designed to serve them in the first place.This is not merely a phase of transition; it is a reflection of long-standing structural imbalances. And while previous generations may have been shaped by these systems, today’s generation is actively seeking to reshape them.

Rather than seeking inclusion within outdated models, a new generation of leaders is quietly choosing to build something else. Not by confrontation, but through cooperation. This is not rebellion for rebellion’s sake—but an intentional reimagining of how business, leadership, and social development can align toward inclusive prosperity.

Replacing Winner-Takes-All with Shared Success

The traditional economic narrative has long favoured scale, speed, and domination—rewarding those who can take the most, fastest. As Anand Giridharadas writes in Winners Take All, “by refusing to risk its way of life… [the elite] clings to a set of social arrangements that allow it to monopolize progress and then give symbolic scraps to the forsaken.”

While this model may have driven growth in the past, it is increasingly clear that it cannot deliver the outcomes society now demands. We see its limits in venture capital models that reward blitz-scaling over long-term sustainability, in philanthropic structures that value visibility over proximity, and in CSR efforts that too often substitute branding for impact.

In contrast, a rising cohort of young innovators and community leaders is quietly moving in a different direction. They are choosing depth over scale, long-term relationships over short-term wins, and community ownership over top-down implementation. Their focus is not on disrupting systems for applause, but on designing alternatives that better reflect the challenges and values of our time.

From Inclusion to Co-Ownership

For over a decade, I have worked with and watched communities across the Philippines—particularly in post-disaster and low-resource settings—where young people are not waiting for change to arrive. They are leading it. From peer-led education hubs to sports-based peace programmes, and from hyper-local climate action to inclusive economic models, these initiatives are not symbolic. They are structural. They are grounded in trust, dignity, and real agency.

Importantly, this is not a story about youth defined by age. The Cooperation Generation is not an age cohort, but a mindset—one shaped by the belief that systems must be participatory, not extractive. To be part of this generation, one only needs the willingness to co-create, to question inherited assumptions, and to collaborate beyond silos.

Everyone is welcome. The only qualification is the courage to imagine a different future.

A Threat (and Opportunity) to ‘Business as usual’ 

The business community has a central role to play in this transition. As the Horasis Global Meeting emphasizes under the theme “Harnessing the Power of Cooperation,” the challenges we face—from climate volatility to socioeconomic instability—demand frameworks rooted in mutual value.

This means rethinking traditional investment metrics. We must begin to support shared-ownership models and design partnerships that prioritise impact over image. Business leaders should elevate inclusion from the level of consultation to co-creation—giving emerging leaders the tools, trust, and authority to shape the systems they will one day inherit.

Looking Ahead: São Paulo and the Spirit of Cooperation

This October, the Horasis Global Meeting in São Paulo will provide a timely platform for this intergenerational and cross-sector dialogue. As part of the programme, Young Horasis will host a special session titled:

“Cooperation as Rebellion: Young Redefining Systems for Good.”

This session is open to everyone—not just the young in age, but the young in mind. Those who still believe in the possibility of systems that prioritise people and planet as much as profit. Those who recognise that cooperation is not a soft skill, but a strategic imperative.

Because the future we are building is not about tearing down what came before. It is about designing what comes next—together.