Heterodox
Elements of a post capitalist society are and have been developing in actually existing capitalism. This post points out a couple of examples. The Green Bay Packers is a community-owned (non-proper) football team in the National Football League (NFL). One can find some arguing that they are socialist. And some are concerned to refute this claim. Decades ago, some universities in the United States set up research and development organizations that then became independent, not-for-profit companies. For example, here is the web site for SRC, formerly Syracuse Research Corporation. This means, apparently, that they re-invest what they make. IRS Publication 557 explains how to apply for status as a 501(c) organization. A quick Google search gets me to the National Center for Employee
Topics:
Robert Vienneau considers the following as important: Cookbooks for Workshops of the Future
This could be interesting, too:
Robert Vienneau writes Elsewhere: Data On Capitalism And Other Systems
Robert Vienneau writes Problems With The Economic Calculation Problem
Robert Vienneau writes Aims And Tasks Of Democratic Socialism
Robert Vienneau writes Elsewhere
Elements of a post capitalist society are and have been developing in actually existing capitalism. This post points out a couple of examples.
The Green Bay Packers is a community-owned (non-proper) football team in the National Football League (NFL). One can find some arguing that they are socialist. And some are concerned to refute this claim.
Decades ago, some universities in the United States set up research and development organizations that then became independent, not-for-profit companies. For example, here is the web site for SRC, formerly Syracuse Research Corporation. This means, apparently, that they re-invest what they make. IRS Publication 557 explains how to apply for status as a 501(c) organization.
A quick Google search gets me to the National Center for Employee Ownership. They explain how a Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) works.
The cooperative movement is of interest in this context. I gather the Mondragon Corporation, in Spain, is the most well-known example. But I want to turn to producer cooperatives in dairy. The Lowville Producers Dairy Cooperative is one near me. Apparently, the National Milk Producers Federation is a federation of such cooperatives. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides background. I see that they confirm what I know anecdotally, that not all dairy farmers are members of a coop.
I guess some theory is needed to make sense of any claim that, say, producer coops are an example of socialism or to obtain a general understanding of such organizations. I have only read Hodgson (1998) and Jossa (2005) in the list of references below. From Hodgson, as I recall, I learned that an issue with cooperatives is start-up finance. It may be that producer cooperatives are more efficient than capitalist firms and still be smaller than one would hope. Jossa (2005) argues that cooperatives are consistent with Marx's vision. He draws on Vanek's distinction between worker-managed firms (WMFs) and labor-managed firms (LMFs). In WMFs, workers provide the finance, while in a LMF, the firm borrows. Anyways, here is some literature to explore.
References- Geoffrey M. Hodgson (1998). Economics and Utopia: Why the Learning Economy is not the End of History. Routledge.
- Bruno Jossa (2019). The Political Economy of Cooperatives and Socialism, Routledge.
- Bruno Jossa (2005). Marx, Marxism and the cooperative movement. Cambridge Journal of Economics 29: 3-18.
- Jaroslav Vanek (1970). The General Theory of Labor-Managed Market Economies. NCOL.
- Jaroslav Vanek (1971). The Participatory Economy: An Evolutionary Hypothesis and a Strategy for Development. Cornell University Press.
- Jaroslav Vanek (1977). The Labor-Managed Economy: Essays. Cornell University Press.