@msavoritias @metaphase @laminda

Cooperatives are not socialism. Capitalism isn't when bosses, capitalism is private property and the capitalist mode of production, bosses are a symptom of that.

Worker coops get rid of the bosses, but maintain the existence of private property (the coop is private property of its workers), wage labour and the profit motive, and are subject to market forces (ie they compete with other companies and so their options to better the working conditions are limited). Therefore in a coop the same capitalist exploitation takes place, only that it is self managed. This would not change if every company was a coop.

Sure, coops are better than other companies for a variety of reasons, but they're still entities firmly within the capitalist system. They're ✨social democracy +✨, not socialism.

Like unions, they can pave the way towards socialism though.

*runs*