a hand sticking out of the rubble clutching a crumpled note

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47. You replace it with worker controlled businesses

There are many in the US right now. Co-ops, worker owned corporations like Alexandria Union Cab http://www.alexunioncab.com/ Alvarado Street Bakery’s http://www.alvaradostreetbakery.com/ and Apple Eco-Cleaning http://green-coop.com/ to name just a few.

There are some restrictions in Europe on campaign and financing that we don't have in the US. Those restrictions have allowed for more socialism than what is allowed in the US. But if given enough time, capitalism will tear down those restrictions like they have torn down most restrictions on capitalism here in the US. They will tear down even these minimal restrictions because the capitalists, the uber rich, the corporations have most of the money from our labor. With that money, they will continually fight even minimal restrictions. Look at how Great Britain has privatized their transportation and increased austerity on the middle class and poor. Greece immediately jumped on the austerity wagon. That is the result of huge wealth allowed to accumulate in the hands of a few individuals at the expense of a mass of workers through capitalism.

Democracy in the workplace could be done in hundreds of different ways. Mondragon for example, the workers come in 4 days a week and do the work and get a pay check just like normal. On the 5th day they get together and sit on boards and vote on what to do with the profits and how it's distributed. http://www.mondragon-corporation.com/ENG.aspx. If a board of directors and a CEO can make those decisions, why not the workers formed into boards. I think they have specific issues that must (by their own policies) be brought before the general assembly for a vote by all employees. Yes, there is a lot of voting and decisions to be made but better the worker than the elite CEO and board members.

Of course you always have cheats and crooks. This will NOT solve all the worlds problems. There will always be problems and difficulties, crooks and liars. This democracy in the work place would merely put the workers in charge instead of an elite group of rich people.

But if workers decided things, would they make such horrible decisions as capitalists? Would they decide to ship their own jobs to another country? Would they decide to use a chemical that spills out into their drinking water and poisons their children? Would they decide to use pesticides that will kill all the bees? I somehow doubt it, because they would have to suffer the consequences of these decisions. Right now a CEO gets the ok from the board to use poisonous fluids to dig a well. He doesn't live where the well will be dug. The board members wont have to drink and use the poisoned tap water. So, to them there are no consequences to poisoning the ground water while digging a well. But if the guy who uses the digging equipment, who lives 10 miles from the site gets a say in the matter, I doubt he would decide on poisonous materials. Yes, he could get bribed to vote for the poison but then he has got to think if his company gets in trouble, would he still have a job.

Panglossian? Me excessively optimistic? Far from it. No one who knows me has ever accused me of that.

But like I said this wont solve all the worlds problems but it is a good start. We have a mild form of democracy in politics now we need to put real democracy in the workplace.