From: ozgur usenmez (ozgurusenmez@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Oct 16 2002 - 12:47:31 EDT
I think people should think about the viability of a worker-owned company in
a capitalist system, since structural characteristics of the system requires
you to compete with other firms you will inevitably have to make a choice
between workers' well-being and that of the company. Also banks and credit
creators would not be generous to a worker-owned company because it
constitutes a direct threat to the capitalist logic. Even if you go to stock
markets demands of investors for short term profitability will constrain the
management since democratic decision making would retard capitalists'
utility maxmizing behavior.At the end I believe that any worker-owned
company can be viable under conditions of socialist democracy in where human
needs are put before the profits as a systemic requirement. But I am not in
favor of waiting a revolution, work place struggles to democratize the
socially consequential power of capital over all of us could help the
construction of a counter-hegemonic working class culture which is the
cornerstone of the future socialism. Every confrontation with the mangement
further clarifies the conciousness of the workers about where their real
interests lie.
OZGUR USENMEZ
The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims.They openly declare
that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all
existing social conditions.Let the ruling class tremble at a communistic
revolution.The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.They have
a world to win."Working Men of All Countries,Unite"
Karl Heinrich Marx
>From: Kenneth Alan Miller <pgh_iww_iu450@yahoo.com>
>To: usas@yahoogroups.com, meghan lee krausch <mlkrausc@midway.uchicago.edu>
>Subject: Re: [usas] notions of democracy
>Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 09:05:20 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>Instead of donating the profits - you could share ALL of them with the
>workers - the workers then being adaquatly repaid for their labor. Then
>they could decide, with money in hand, whether to make donations or keep
>the money for themselves. There is one "notion" of democracy For the OBU,
>Kenneth
> meghan lee krausch <mlkrausc@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:Hey folks,
>
>does anyone have any advice, suggested reading, criticisms, thoughts, on
>creating a more than vague notion of "fostering democracy in the
>workplace"? for example, if one were to actually start a factory with all
>the proper material ingredients for non-sweatshop-like conditions, how
>would one then go about making it a truly empowering place for
>workers? you can't create a union yourself (i don't think that's agood way
>anyway--i could be wrong), but you can't just arrange everything in a
>hierarchical way and say that you are ensuring the workers' well-being. do
>people think that transitioning to a worker-owned corporation (and
>worker-run--completely) might solve the problem?
>
>just to clarify, this is a non-profit factory that aims to sell shirts,
>employ workers, and donate profits.
>
>opinions, thoughts, anything please!
>
>-meghan
>
>
>
>
>
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