F*** a Wage, Take Over the Business: A How-To with Economist Richard Wolff

[marmar]

.....(snip).....

What is the place where most adults in the United States spend most of their life? Answer, workplace. 5 out of 7 days of the week from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, you’re at work. And then if you aren’t at work, you are driving to or from work, dressing for work. Work is the center of adult life of our people. When you go to work, here’s what we do in this “democratic” country. We avoid democracy. We give up democracy. Why?

Most Americans work in a corporation, a form of capitalist enterprise. A tiny group of people, the board of directors, typically 15 to 20 people, they make all the decisions governing where you work, what you produce, how you produce, and what is done with the profits you help to produce. Whose on the board of directors? Who are these 15-20 people? Answer, they are elected once a year by shareholders under the system of one share, one vote. If you own one share, then you have one vote. If you own a million shares, you get a million votes. And if you have no shares, then you get no votes!

Fact, 1% of shareholders in the United States own two-thirds of shares. Therefore, 1% of shareholders dominate and select the board of directors of American corporations [Wolff’s side note: 1% of shareholders is less than 1% of the population as a whole]. They’re called major shareholders. They’re big banks, big pension funds, various wealthy individuals, they’re big corporations, that’s who own the shares.

So, what do we know?

The mass of people in any corporation own no shares at all. The workers General Motors, General Electric, Microsoft, you name it, they don’t own any shares. Therefore, they have no votes at all. Meanwhile, whether or not they have a job, what they produce on their job, what technology is killing them on the job, and what is done with the profits their labor helped to produce, are all decisions made by people over whom they have no control. They have no participation whatsoever.

The place that most adults spend most of their lives is a place from which democracy has always EXCLUDED. Therefore, to call the United States a democracy is a mistake. To justify the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, or the bombing of Syria, on the grounds that we are bringing to them democracy is an ignorant arrogance that leaves me speechless, especially once you understand the absurdity of what is being claimed here. ..................(more)

http://rdwolff.com/content/f-wage-take-over-business-how-economist-richard-wolff

[99th_Monkey]

1. Hell Yah!! Worker-Buyouts/ownership to democratize the workplace & the economy. -nt-

[Skittles]

2. why the assumption people work M-F, 9-5?

I cannot remember ever working that few hours

[valerief]

3. Yeah, including my bathing/dressing, drive, and work hours, it was a good 13-14 hour day (or more)

when I was working. Sometimes I'd come home and work some more.

That's what America expects from its slaves.

[X_Digger]

4. Long-assed read for, "Nyah nyah, Marx is the shit."

Democracy is a system of government, Professor. His fundamental concept of democracy, "If you are affected by a decision then you have the right to participate in making it."-- is nonsense.

I think the professor needs to take a refresher in poli sci, specifically, "Representative Democracy".



Interesting read, but ultimately, pointless.

[U4ikLefty]

5. Whoosh!!! nt

[Fuddnik]

6. Read some of his writings or watch some of his lectures on cooperatives.

"When the employees have a share in the decision making, they'll never vote to send their jobs overseas".

Double- whoosh.