Consumer Co-ops vs. Worker Co-ops

Consumer Co-ops vs. Worker Co-ops
Richard Wolff
18 January 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v_E2USe1YM

Democracy at Work

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "You’re known as an advocate of worker cooperatives. However, back in the 19th century, Friedrich Engels (as well as Eduard Bernstein, the father of Democratic Socialism) was very skeptical of worker cooperatives because of the power the workers at a company could still have over the general public to whom they were not responsible to, meaning they could still, for example, create a monopoly, jack up prices, and engage in protectionist tactics. Instead, Engels and Bernstein preferred consumer cooperatives, in which the public that patronized the business would be the ones to own it and the business would be responsible to them, thereby giving the public a say in the running of the company as well as the workers. What do you think about the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems and why do you think worker cooperatives are the superior arrangement?" 

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Timestamp notes by Fred M Beshears

0:27
Major Marxist Theorists 

- Democracy At Work (DAW) focuses on worker co-ops, but other prefer consumer co-ops
- According to the Patron of DAW, major Marxist theorists were not friendly to workers co-ops
- They much preferred consumer co-ops
- They thought that consumer co-ops would better serve the people
- They thought that the people for whom production is intended should be in charge
- They thought the customers would be in a better position to decide what should be done
- So, they tilted in favor of consumer co-ops

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1:38
Democracy at Work Favors Worker Co-ops

- Professor Richard Wolf wants to clarify the focus of Democracy At Work (DAW)
- DOW focus on producer co-ops is not a criticism of consumer co-ops
- The Cooperative idea of getting together in a democratic way is what DOW is all about
- Consumer Co-ops are widespread in the USA and even more so around the world
- Consumer Co-ops are pretty well tolerated in capitalist societies

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2:45
Why does Democracy At Work Focus on Worker Co-ops
- Worker Co-ops are not well tolerated in capitalist societies
- DOW wants to make sure that Worker co-ops are included in the going-beyond-capitalism conversation 
- DOW thinks we need both consumer and worker co-ops
- The worker co-op is in a good position to understand the needs of the working people 
- The consumer should also have a powerful voice in shaping what happens in production
- Worker co-ops and consumer co-ops should work together