3 ms·

>Which is that the 'means of production' needs to be OWNED by the people producing. Not a corporate owner (or even an 'entrepreneur'), and not 'the state', but

>Which is that the 'means of production' needs to be OWNED by the people producing. Not a corporate owner (or even an 'entrepreneur'), and not 'the state', but the collective that actually does the work, commensurate with their overall contribution. You sound similar to an anarcho-syndicalist, which is a position I've never understood well. Let me ask a question in the form of example. Bob, Ted, and Jim want to start a pin factory. All three want to work for it. So they pool their capital, contributing $250k, 300k, and 350k respectively, receiving proportional equity, invest in equipment, and all three go to work making pins after 2 months. They hire other workers. The contract for all workers gives a vesting schedule that gives them equity over time as well. The fact that CAPEX has to be provided by employees is not a good feature of this. Should shareholders that have never held a job with the firm not be allowed to invest in it? That is exceedingly restrictive.

Miner49er 8y ago
Outside investors can be allowed I would think, but not given shares. For example, a credit union could give a loan and collect their interest. The credit union wouldn't get any equity.
- nybble41 8y ago
  That sounds like a pretty good deal—for the credit union. They get paid their fixed share no matter how poorly the firm performs (short of bankruptcy). The firm and its employees are taking almost all of the risk. Selling equity would allow the firm to raise capital while splitting the risk with the investor(s). It makes the investor a partner in the firm's success or failure.
empath75 8y ago
I think there's probably a middle ground here where there is a meaningful percentage of the ownership stake that is set aside for the workforce as a whole, with rebalancing as the company grows, and internally as people gain seniority or leave the company.

Miner49er 8y ago

Outside investors can be allowed I would think, but not given shares. For example, a credit union could give a loan and collect their interest. The credit union wouldn't get any equity.

nybble41 8y ago
That sounds like a pretty good deal—for the credit union. They get paid their fixed share no matter how poorly the firm performs (short of bankruptcy). The firm and its employees are taking almost all of the risk. Selling equity would allow the firm to raise capital while splitting the risk with the investor(s). It makes the investor a partner in the firm's success or failure.

empath75 8y ago

I think there's probably a middle ground here where there is a meaningful percentage of the ownership stake that is set aside for the workforce as a whole, with rebalancing as the company grows, and internally as people gain seniority or leave the company.