“The Case Against the Employment System,” and for Workplace Democracy
https://ellerman.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/case-based-on-ordinary-norms.pdf
Conceptually, it’s very intriguing, especially considering that decision-making by committee is usually less effective due to accountability being spread across many people, and ownership of the matter being ambiguous
Additionally, the consensus-driven nature of cooperatives may sometimes hinder innovation or bold decision-making, as every major decision requires a broader agreement among members.
It’s a delicate balance and the effectiveness of a cooperative model can significantly depend on the specific implementation, the sector in which the cooperative operates, and the culture of collaboration among its members.
In comparing to traditional hierarchical business models, cooperatives present a different set of challenges and benefits. The cooperative model’s emphasis on shared ownership and democratic decision-making can be empowering and equitable, but may require a more robust framework for accountability and decision-making to ensure operational efficiency and responsiveness to market dynamics.
a cooperative is an organizational structure, not a decision processes.
Our cooperative works with consent, not consensus, and innovation is easier imho. Lots (too many) of coops default to the mode you point to here, but I think that’s due to norms and habits, not due to the cooperative structure of an organization.
I would love to see us build literacy about ways to cooperate, and lots of experiments with innovative coop mashups.
Democracy doesn’t necessarily mean direct democracy. It can be a representative democracy where the workers delegate decision-making authority. Therefore, cooperatives do not necessarily require decision-making by committee. Every decision does not require broader agreement among members if decision making is delegated. There can be a managerial hierarchy in a worker coop as long as it is a managerial hierarchy based on delegation that is democratically accountable to those governed.
