Comments on: Economic democracy – the left’s big new idea

By: se

se — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:16:59 +0000

I think replacing the current taxes with an asset tax could be the most effective way towards economic democracy. If there is less wealth inequality; then individuals’ own financial means allow economic democracy.

By: Michael H

Michael H — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:31:06 +0000

This International Monetary Fund working paper details a solution to the international debt crisis, and also a more democratic money supply system. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/wp12202.pdf

By: E Ringlein

E Ringlein — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 20:29:24 +0000

See the BBC presentation of the Mondragon Experiment for a little background on Worker Cooperatives success on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCB33DEC7A0444F1E

By: Martyn

Martyn — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:45:45 +0000

An interesting article, but the idea of industrial democracy goes back much further than the 1970s – it was what the ‘syndicalist revolt’ of the period 1910-1914 and 1919 was all about. However, its purpose was not to establish self-managing co-operatives within a capitalist framework, but as a way of re-organising society so that workers received the whole product of their labours and planned and managed the economy.

Hopefully this article will kick-start a a long overdue debate on how to create a libertarian socialist society.

By: david Hirst

david Hirst — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:45:44 +0000

Peter, Thanks very much for this, and I agree entirely with your diagnosis. The lack of accountability and democracy in the running of our corporations is undoubtedly responsible for many current injustices and unhappiness as well as our economic ills, and leads to a very strange culture of management. There is no limit to the profit sought, whereas, to my mind, profit should be a discipline, necessary to reward those who provided capital, but not the key driver of the institution.

However, I cannot accept that the Trade Unions (or employee ownership) are sufficient to counter the imbalance. There are wider interests, both of society and the environment that also need a voice. It can help to extend the franchise to the customers and suppliers of corporations, but we need more than that. It may not be appropriate to have Greenpeace on the board, but the well-being of the planet does need a voice. So to do the wider interests of society, for example in reducing inequality, encouraging sound diets, and ensuring appropriate freedoms to all.

Widening the franchise will make visible the conflicts between these interests, so more internal effort towards conflict resolution, and shared decisions, will be needed. This will also need transparency, so a press that, rather than being sycophantic towards corporations and their barons, engages in real criticism of their weaknesses and self-serving decisions.

One business that aspires to this wider democracy is http://www.riversimple.com and I commend this to you.

By: mat

mat — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:59:50 +0000

Peter,

You aren’t alone in promoting economic democracy(see the Spirit Level authors for example) though a lot of people seem weirdly uninterested in it. See this article: http://idealoblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-live-in-democracy-but-i-spend-half-my.html

I think economic democracy would be genuinely transformative though it is not a universal panacea

By: Charlie Naylor

Charlie Naylor — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:10:22 +0000

Great article.
Many in the Labour movement see economic democracy as being ‘far left’ and not an election winner, and no doubt the right wing press would demonise it’s advocates. Yet aspects of what you are advocating is the norm in Germany…….through Works Councils. There is an attitude that these are simply an effective and quite a normal, and well established way of doing things. It would be foolish to argue that there is full economic democracy in Germany, but at least there is an element of worker participation.
Yes economic democracy it is so simple and accessible, and it works. It is bizarre that Labour leaders reject it.

By: Peter Tatchell

Peter Tatchell — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:41:06 +0000

Thanks Jacob. Some interesting ideas from you too. Appreciation.

I am amazed that I seem to be one of the few left-wingers promoting the idea of economic democracy and the structural reform of capitalism. Even the far left is obsessed with routine trade union struggles within the system, to the exclusion of any serious ideas about how to change the system. Bizarre. And frustrating.

The Greens, to their credit, are debating these ideas. Are any other progressive parties or movements even thinking about them? I am sure some are. So why don’t we hear them pushing for economic democracy? It is a simple, accessible and potentially popular idea that resonates with mainstream democratic values.

By: Jacob Richter

Jacob Richter — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:47:37 +0000

“The advent of nationalised public industries, utilities and services changed nothing.”

Sure it did. It may not have introduced economic democracy, but it at least introduced a sort of economic republicanism (res publica: the public thing). The “new big idea” on the reformist left (though I’m critical of it) should combine economic democracy and economic republicanism.

Kudos for mentioning Meidner BIG time! Anyway, some economically radical demands are more important than others, among them the proposals of left economists Hyman Minsky and Rudolf Meidner, and I feel these should be discussed (also as an out-of-the-box means of discrediting what remains of social democracy):

1. Universalisation of annual, non-deflationary adjustments for all non-executive and non-celebrity remunerations, pensions and insurance benefits to at least match rising costs of living.

2. Fuller socio-income democracy through direct proposals and rejections – at the national level and above – regarding the creation and adjustment of income multiple limits in all industries, for all major working class and other professions, and across all types of income.

3. The realization of zero unemployment structurally and cyclically by means of expanding public services a) to fully include employment of last resort for consumer services and even b) to fully socialize the labour market as the sole de jure employer of all workers in society, contracting out all labour services to the private sector on the basis of comprehensive worker protections.

4. The increase of real social savings and investment by first means of mandatory and significant redistributions of annual business profits, by private enterprises with more workers than a defined threshold, as non-tradable and superior voting shares to be held by geographically organised worker funds.

5. The implementation of economy-wide indicative planning based on extensive mathematical optimization.

6. Enabling the full replacement of the hiring of labour for small-business profit by cooperative production, and also society’s cooperative production of goods and services to be regulated by cooperatives under their common plans.