ESOPs have certainly received plenty of justified criticism of which Gar Alperovitz is fully aware. He really is not naive, trust me. Or see for yourself and check out the video I mentioned. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3l4PtC7iTA. I think you would find it compelling. There's a whole ecological side to it, too, that would be up your alley. Here's a link to his appearance on Democracy Now yesterday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO-n_cdrwYQ. But again the sound-bite versions don't do his ideas justice.
Woj: I don't know about co-op housing; it's not the focus of Alpeovitz's work. Co-op groceries are pretty popular, and I know "co-housing" is on the upswing. (I visited one development a couple of years ago and found it a little creepy, but I think that's because it was so suburban.)
Gar Lipow:
> I keep going aww - oh wait they are not talking about me but another Gar.
> With my name, "Gar" referring to someone other than me is an unusual
> experience. I will say that a lot of organizations that are nominally
> coops are not.
> ESOPs, mutual insurance companies and patient owned HMOs like Group
> Health where really management maintains practical control.
>
-- -- Chris Sturr Co-editor, Dollars & Sense 29 Winter St. Boston, Mass. 02108 phone: 617-447-2177, ext. 205 fax: 617-447-2179 email: sturr at dollarsandsense.org