3 ms·

Its striking to me that there seems to be a segment of the population now that think that a company should behave like a democracy. I'd be very interested to se

Its striking to me that there seems to be a segment of the population now that think that a company should behave like a democracy. I'd be very interested to see research about how this kind of viewpoint has changed over time, at what kind of companies it is more or less prevalent at, etc. I find this viewpoint astonishing personally, but that might have to do with my upbringing and cultural background.

caput770 3y ago
In a way, public companies are democracies made up of their shareholders. Do you think it's astonishing that many people think workers should be able to participate as well? Not that world politics should have much to do with company matters
DicIfTEx 3y ago
From https://www.uk.coop/understanding-co-ops/what-co-op/quick-facts-about-co-ops https://www.uk.coop/understanding-co-ops/what-co-op/quick-fa... > There are 3 million co-ops around the world – with 1.2 billion members. > That means 12% of the people on Earth are part of a co-op. With co-ops being just one particularly prominent form of democratic business structure, workplace democracy is not quite as marginal a notion as you might think.
- fasthands9 3y ago
  I don't disagree with this - but work at a co-op if you prefer that system of management? I actually like working at a corporation because I don't have to play politics or worry about parts of the business I'm not involved in. It would be hell if I had to spend my evenings in meetings about foreign policy issues or disciplinary hearings for employees in other departments.
archagon 3y ago
The fact that we tolerate these pseudo-feudal corporate silos within our nominally democratic systems is what's bizarre to me. I live in a democracy and yet most of my day-to-day decisions are governed by an unapproachable billionaire C-suite. Why?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- name_nick_sex_m 3y ago
  Maybe because democracy is mostly a myth and an illusion. All the resources you consume (food, land, money) are controlled by these various organizations which you must submit to, or suffer their consequences. And submitting to them empowers them further.
drewbug01 3y ago
It doesn’t really surprise me, actually. We spend an enormous amount of our waking hours engaging with our jobs! If one believes in democracy, holds it as a core value - it seems perfectly reasonable that such a person would want the place they spend so much time to reflect those values. Whether or not that’s “right” or “wrong” is an entirely separate matter, of course. But it doesn’t surprise me, not in the least.

caput770 3y ago

In a way, public companies are democracies made up of their shareholders. Do you think it's astonishing that many people think workers should be able to participate as well? Not that world politics should have much to do with company matters

DicIfTEx 3y ago

From https://www.uk.coop/understanding-co-ops/what-co-op/quick-facts-about-co-ops https://www.uk.coop/understanding-co-ops/what-co-op/quick-fa... > There are 3 million co-ops around the world – with 1.2 billion members. > That means 12% of the people on Earth are part of a co-op. With co-ops being just one particularly prominent form of democratic business structure, workplace democracy is not quite as marginal a notion as you might think.

fasthands9 3y ago
I don't disagree with this - but work at a co-op if you prefer that system of management? I actually like working at a corporation because I don't have to play politics or worry about parts of the business I'm not involved in. It would be hell if I had to spend my evenings in meetings about foreign policy issues or disciplinary hearings for employees in other departments.

archagon 3y ago

The fact that we tolerate these pseudo-feudal corporate silos within our nominally democratic systems is what's bizarre to me. I live in a democracy and yet most of my day-to-day decisions are governed by an unapproachable billionaire C-suite. Why?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
name_nick_sex_m 3y ago
Maybe because democracy is mostly a myth and an illusion. All the resources you consume (food, land, money) are controlled by these various organizations which you must submit to, or suffer their consequences. And submitting to them empowers them further.

drewbug01 3y ago

It doesn’t really surprise me, actually. We spend an enormous amount of our waking hours engaging with our jobs! If one believes in democracy, holds it as a core value - it seems perfectly reasonable that such a person would want the place they spend so much time to reflect those values. Whether or not that’s “right” or “wrong” is an entirely separate matter, of course. But it doesn’t surprise me, not in the least.