The 3rd Principle is wholly dedicated to members' economic participation in their co-operative. However, it would be wrong to interpret this Principle in isolation and thus reduce co-operatives to little more than their economic dimension. This 3rd Principle is just one facet of co-operative identity. That is why it is worth examining this Principle in conjunction with the other components of the definition on the Co-operative Identity in the Alliance's Statement on the Co-operative Identity, Values and Principles.
In the Alliance's definition of co-operative identity, it is important to note that although the economic dimension of co-operatives is mentioned first, shared social and cultural "aspirations and needs" are listed on an equal footing. This reflects the agenda of the founders of the modern co-operative movement who sought to transform society and saw their co-operative as more than just an economic enterprise. Social and cultural needs and aspirations stand alongside the economic dimension of all co-operatives. It affirms the idea that a co-operative is an enterprise of human commitment by and of the people who are members of it and who make a co-operative an economic, social and cultural reality. But it also can have other dimensions and purposes, for example social or cultural co-operatives that do not operate in tradable activities in a market. In this latter case, the economic dimension is but a means to an end for a co-operative's activities.