A collective business today

[Cymro]

I've been lurking here a bit and I've seen a common sentiment of the workers of a factory taking over and then running the business in a democratic and fair fashion.

A question I'd like to ask is why not do it today by buying a failing company? An example of this would be the Tower Colliery in south Wales.

[Revolution starts with U]

That can be done, and is a good and righteous route to take.

But the seizing or buying of one, or one hundred, factories alone will not liberate the working class from the tyranny of capital.

[Decolonize The Left]

But the seizing or buying of one, or one hundred, factories alone will not liberate the working class from the tyranny of capital.

No, but it is an act of communization which I would wholeheartedly support.

- August

[RGacky3]

I totally agree, its something I support, and in the US you have a growing cooperative movement, and in many other countries.

However, believe it or not, its not that simple, even if you have the money, courts have blocked company buyouts by the workers, literally. Manytimes even to have a buyout (much less a takeover), you need massiave local support and direct action.

[#FF0000]

People do it. It's great. But it doesn't challenge capitalism.

[NewLeft]

I totally agree, its something I support, and in the US you have a growing cooperative movement, and in many other countries.

Do you have a source for this? I've only heard bad news of the co-op movement..

[Marvin the Marxian]

People do it. It's great. But it doesn't challenge capitalism.

You're right, comrade, because it doesn't liberate the working class as a whole from the tyranny of capital (as Revolution starts with U said). But it does help lessen or eliminate exploitation for a group of workers, however small it may be. And it helps those workers organize and get educated on their own so they'll be better prepared for when the working class as a whole is finally liberated.

[Cymro]

I totally agree, its something I support, and in the US you have a growing cooperative movement, and in many other countries.

However, believe it or not, its not that simple, even if you have the money, courts have blocked company buyouts by the workers, literally. Manytimes even to have a buyout (much less a takeover), you need massiave local support and direct action.

yeah I know this, the New Labour goverment tried to block the the buyout I mentioned in the OP.

[RGacky3]

I don't have a source for the growth, but I do know cooperative federations ahve been set up recently, cleaveland has had a lot of cooperatives made (the cleaveland model), the same in Vermont and other places.

[Anon4chan1235]

It's already been done with isthmus engineering and STI and they're going strong.

[Deicide]

The publisher AK press is a workers collective.


AK Press is a worker-run collective that publishes and distributes radical books, visual and audio media, and other mind-altering material. We're small: a dozen people who work long hours for short money, because we believe in what we do. We're anarchists, which is reflected both in the books we provide and in the way we organize our business. Decisions at AK Press are made collectively, from what we publish, to what we distribute and how we structure our labor. All the work, from sweeping floors to answering phones, is shared. When the telemarketers call and ask, "who's in charge?" the answer is: everyone. Our goal isn't profit (although we do have to pay the rent). Our goal is supplying radical words and images to as many people as possible. The books and other media we distribute are published by independent presses, not the corporate giants. We make them widely available to help you make positive (or, hell, revolutionary) changes in the world. As you probably know, the stuff we carry is less and less available from the corporate publishers and their chain stores.

http://www.akpress.org/about/aboutakenglish

Also check out mondragon in Spain it's quite a successful company.


The MONDRAGON Corporation is a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque region of Spain. Founded in the town of Mondragón in 1956, its origin is linked to the activity of a modest technical college and a small workshop producing paraffin heaters. Currently it is the seventh largest Spanish company in terms of asset turnover and the leading business group in the Basque Country. At the end of 2010 it was providing employment for 83,859 people working in 256 companies in four areas of activity: Finance, Industry, Retail and Knowledge. The MONDRAGON Co-operatives operate in accordance with a business model based on People and the Sovereignty of Labour, which has made it possible to develop highly participative companies rooted in solidarity, with a strong social dimension but without neglecting business excellence. The Co-operatives are owned by their worker-members and power is based on the principle of one person, one vote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation