To subscribe, send 'subscribe li-crg' to majordomo at lists.econ.utah.edu
Mark
Michael Cohen wrote:
>
> 1. Does anybody know of a history with detailed accounts anytime in
> history of
> detailed worker owned and managed businesses and their fate in the
> Market Place.
> I believe Brad De Long may have mentioned organizations of this
> type and their fate.
>
> 2. Is there any reason to believe that Labor has any a priori
> disadvantage over capital
> in international and power. Suppose that the AFL--CIO was a
> world wide organization and
> set the wages but that businesses run by shopkeepers could not
> internationally organize. Let say
> all the profit was in managing and running unions and the main
> abuse of the system
> pointed out by both the left and the right were corrupt Labor
> Leaders who were exploiting the
> workers in worker owned businesses.
>
> 3. Put another way why is there so much capitalist solidarity that
> this is not even mentioned by
> conservatives as a problem. However, solidarity among workers is
> marginal. Why is this?
>
> I am asking these questions not because I am unaware of the difficulties
> posed by the state which acts
> at least in the US as "an executive committee of the business class".
> This argument presumably doesn't work for Socialist Governments. I am
> also aware that the above statements are Utopian and counterfactual. A
> priori, it seems to me however that the opportunities and problems
> shared by labor and Capital are symmetric.
>
> The question then if there are impediments to Labor organizations what
> are they and how can they be surmounted. If not, what is a overall
> strategy for strenthening Labor worldwide and in the United
> States given current difficulties.
> --mike
> --
> Michael Cohen mike at cns.bu.edu
> Associate Professor, Center for Adaptive Systems
> Work: 677 Beacon, Street, Rm313 Boston, Mass 02115
> Home: 25 Stearns Rd, #3 Brookline, Mass 02146
> Tel-Work: 617-353-9484
> Tel-Home:617-353-7755
-- Mark Jones http://www.geocities.com/~comparty