A primer on how Commons Capitalism (CC) works to replace traditional capitalism, i.e., corporations or other entities owned directly or indirectly by individuals. 1/8
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
A CCE is not a worker cooperative. A cooperative is an entity that is owned and controlled by its members, which operates for their financial benefit and is often based on the workers’ labor contribution to the cooperative. A CCE is an entity that is not owned by anyone and is controlled by a board of directors that operates the CCE for the benefit of certain disparate groups, one of which is the group of current workers.
@Cirdan@GhostOnTheHalfShell Legally that would make it a trust, in that it is run by trustees for the benefit of a defined set of individuals. You might want to look into trust law.
@tokensane@GhostOnTheHalfShell No it's not a trust. And workers would not be stakeholders (or beneficiaries) in any way. That would be made clear in the articles of incorporation.
@Cirdan@GhostOnTheHalfShell But you said it was for their benefit. Someone administering an asset for the benefit of someone else is a trustee by definition.
@tokensane@GhostOnTheHalfShell
Not in a legal sense. The CCE would be set up to distribute the net profit across five disparate groups: the nonprofit corporation, the subsidiary, a pension group to pay benefits to retired employees, a benefits group to pay benefits to current employees, and an acquisition group to acquire new targets. And, no. Nobody will be deemed a beneficiary of the profits.
@Cirdan@GhostOnTheHalfShell I think you need to read up on Trust law. I'm more familiar with UK law on this. Over here if it looks like a trust and quacks like a trust, it's a trust regardless of what the paperwork says. I think the US is broadly similar.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
Worker-owners of a cooperative often manage the day-to-day operations through various management structures. Day-to-day management of the commons capitalism LLC is performed by business professionals. In the CCE, workers at the LLC level only have some control over the retention of personnel and the distribution of property at various management levels.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
I have a lot of respect for coops of any kind. But my research demonstrated that I had to jettison the ideas of equality, democracy, and egalitarianism and concentrate on running an effective business and distributing benefits equitably while preventing any claims of ownership rights.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
The important points of this approach is that it negates this nasty idea of individual ownership and claims of stakeholdership.
Good observations made by you. One of the issues I realized in my research is that, when traditional capitalism developed, it usurped the position of the ancient customs used for governing "commons."
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
If you read Elinor Ostrom's book on "Governing the Commons," she addresses the Tragedy of the Commons." That research helped her win the Nobel prize and is used by me to explain how to distribute profits to several disparate groups.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
Quite possibly. But, going through the research, I've had several moments where what I found I never anticipated, e.g., using distribution to workers to accomplish what socialism would attempt to do and employing a "commons" to distribute wealth as a resource.
CC uses Commons Capitalism Entities (CCEs). They are nonprofit corporations that have no shareholders. The CCE would have one or more wholly-owned for-profit subsidiaries. Each CCE would hold the means of production and net profits as a "commons," and the commons resources are used by five or more disparate groups. 2/8
A substantial part of the resources is distributed to employees as premium wages with Nordic-style benefiits. The remainder of the resources are used to purchase other companies and similarly pay the new employees or create replicate CCEs who, in turn, acquire more for-profit entities as wholly owned subsidiaries. 3/8
The benefits of Commons Capitalism are, as follows:
The primary benefit is to distribute profits to workers in the form of premium wages and Nordic-style benefits and spinoff replicate entities. The secondary benefit is to equitably distribute wealth, via worker's wages, throughout the community. The tertiary benefit is to halt the accumulation of the means of production in fewer and fewer individuals. 4/8
In the US economy, each CCE can use continually, but fluctuating, renewable wealth, i.e., the means of production and net income, as the common pool resources and a board of five or more working directors instead of a whole community to run and maintain each of the CCEs. 5/8
Commons Capitalism could begin tomorrow. It avoids the necessity of revolution, and guarantees what will replace traditional capitalism. It's a system that once it is established in the economy, will continue to multiply and provide better pay and benefits to tens of millions of workers. It would work great in a market economy and would out perform traditional capitalism in most industries. 6/8
This is absurd. I'm sorry but there's no other word for it.
Who's gonna tell the billionaires of the world who would plunge us into war, plague, and literally destroy the earth in order to keep their profits and power? Who is going to tell the governments of the world who have gone to bat over and over and over for those billionaires?
@itty53
The point is that Commons Capitalism could be created under existing federal and state laws and regulations. It is structured to outcompete traditional capitalism in virtually any industry.
Several points haven't had a chance to be discussed. First is the question of funding the first CCE. The whole process of populating CCEs will take 50, 75, 100 years? The political battles that will be brought to bare by capitalists. Commons Capitalism is just a rudimentary idea.
@itty53
It needs to be debated by economists, capitalists, socialists, attorneys, accountants, business executives, social historians to name a few. I realize how important is this concept. That's why I'm bringing forward now; I'll be long dead before the first CCE is funded.
@Cirdan@itty53
I think you're going to have to drive that forwards yourself if its to make any headway. So far its an interesting idea, but an idea and $5 will get you a cappuchino.
I look forward to reading your paper though.
One question, related to my earlier question about equity finance. How does this manage innovation and Schumpterian creative destruction?
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