[lbo-talk] socially irresponsible investment

jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net
Thu Apr 14 20:17:16 PDT 2005



> On Thursday 14 April 2005 09:06 pm, Michael Dawson wrote:
> >So, in your view, everybody could just start their own viable
> > non-profit business tomorrow? You've not thought real hard about
> > that assumption, have you?
>
> I didn't say non-profit. I said worker-owned, a profit sharing
> arrangement where the workers decide how much of the profit is plowed
> back into the business and how much they share amongst themselves.
> It may not be strict marxism, but isn't it alot closer than current
> capital-owned business?
>
> And yes, anyone could start one if they wanted to. And I have been
> thinking about this for quite some time now. Intentional community
> was more along my line of thinking but worker owned business appeals
> too.
>
> --tully

Anyone can start one if they only "want" to badly enough?. The ability of a few people to do this is contingent upon millions of others not doing this. Their not doing so makes it possible in a manner of speaking. I owned something similar once. Getting a loan for a business held in 20 peoples names with everyone being an equal partner might sound like a good idea but try to find a bank willing to do that. I owned the business but it was run with everyone having an equal voice in workplace decisions. It was a close to a collective as it could be with one person owning it. It was also a freak set of circumstances that enabled it to be opened this way in the first place. Hardly a business model anyone can follow. Banks generally won't load money for a small business unless they have someone specific they can hold accountable. Believe me, we tried. That's not to say that it is impossible just than 99.999% of the time lending agencies won't approve a small business loan for a collectively owned venture on the scale that is feasible for most people. People make lots of shitty choices but being a wage slave isn't one of them. This nonsensical idea probably makes many people quite angry. It does me.

John Thornton



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