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Why don't communist movements focus on creating and nurturing employee owned businesses? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Yondoza@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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The overarching goal of communism is for laborers to own the means of production instead of an owning/capitalist class. Employee owned businesses are the realization of communism within a capitalist society.

It seems to me that most communist organizations in capitalist societies focus on reform through government policies. I have not heard of organizations focusing on making this change by leveraging the capitalist framework. Working to create many employee owned businesses would be a tangible way to achieve this on a small but growing scale. If successful employee owned businesses are formed and accumulate capital they should be able to perpetuate employee ownership through direct acquisition or providing venture capital with employee ownership requirements.

So my main questions are:

Are organizations focusing on this and I just don't know about it?
If not, what obstacles are there that would hinder this approach to increasing the share labor collective ownership?

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[-] silentjohn@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago

Because they cannot compete with the economies of scale, the availability of capital, market power, an exploitable workforce, etc.

It's like asking why you can't win at checkers when your opponent is cheating at 4d chess.

Read: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Lenin

[-] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago

Well creating an opposibg empire didn't work out so great.

Capitalism is a belief system, you can't beat ideas with guns.

There's not going to be an anti-imperialist empire that successfully ends imperialism.

It exist only because it's population is cajoled into accepting it as the only viable, profitable option.

Concentration of power is the social disease, it creates a "all the eggs in one basket" situation where one bandit can seize control of the whole.

It is a strange paradox that a society built on individual responsibility would be corrupted and usurped by its cooperation mechanism. And that the path to a semblance of decency is to cut down on cooperation to disempower those at the grotesque top.

And then maintain taboos to prevent tge concentrations fromvforming again. BECAUSE they are too profitable and power.

Make CEO a crime, make presidents weak, cut off the heads of kings.

this post was submitted on 17 May 2025

209 points (95.2% liked)

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