> The fact that [worker cooperatives] make just a small part of economy suggest they are not really effective or interesting.
Actually there are a few reasons why we don't have many worker co-ops. First reason is, private investors want equity. VCs don't give out loans — they buy ownership shares, because that has the potential for a much bigger payout. That's incompatible with the co-op model. Similarly, banks are often tentative to give loans to co-ops, because they're so rare, despite co-ops tending to be slightly more stable than corporations when they do crop up. Thirdly, as a company grows, there's no incentive for the founders to give equal shares of ownership to new employees when it's acceptable for them to keep them for themselves. The less you can pay your employees, the better, obviously.
It's clear that in the absence of regulation, corporations are a more enticing business organization model than cooperatives. This doesn't mean that they're better — the free market sacrifices public well-being for private profit all the time. It just means that government intervention is required to promote them.
> many tyrannical countries forbade [emigration]
Do you think preventing your citizens from leaving is a prerequisite for tyranny? Because if not, then my point still stands, and the fact that an employee can quit doesn't make a corporation's governance just, in and of itself.
> you can just be independent contractor
The economy depends primarily on conventional employees. Some people can be independent contractors, but everyone can't, so even if being a contractor is more desirable, my critique of corporations is still very relevant. Besides, independent contractors often get treated even more poorly because of their unprotected status. Uber drivers are classified as "independent contractors," and this has led to Uber being able to treat them pretty poorly. So I'm not even convinced that contract work is necessarily better than regular employment.
Actually there are a few reasons why we don't have many worker co-ops. First reason is, private investors want equity. VCs don't give out loans — they buy ownership shares, because that has the potential for a much bigger payout. That's incompatible with the co-op model. Similarly, banks are often tentative to give loans to co-ops, because they're so rare, despite co-ops tending to be slightly more stable than corporations when they do crop up. Thirdly, as a company grows, there's no incentive for the founders to give equal shares of ownership to new employees when it's acceptable for them to keep them for themselves. The less you can pay your employees, the better, obviously.
It's clear that in the absence of regulation, corporations are a more enticing business organization model than cooperatives. This doesn't mean that they're better — the free market sacrifices public well-being for private profit all the time. It just means that government intervention is required to promote them.
> many tyrannical countries forbade [emigration]
Do you think preventing your citizens from leaving is a prerequisite for tyranny? Because if not, then my point still stands, and the fact that an employee can quit doesn't make a corporation's governance just, in and of itself.
> you can just be independent contractor
The economy depends primarily on conventional employees. Some people can be independent contractors, but everyone can't, so even if being a contractor is more desirable, my critique of corporations is still very relevant. Besides, independent contractors often get treated even more poorly because of their unprotected status. Uber drivers are classified as "independent contractors," and this has led to Uber being able to treat them pretty poorly. So I'm not even convinced that contract work is necessarily better than regular employment.