Cyprus-Forum.com

[tsukoui]

The challenge for AKEL is to extend democracy into the economic sphere.

The traditional route for this for communist parties around the world has been a platform of nationalisation, thus bringing economic activity under the jurisdiction of the democratically elected government.

However Marx entertained another possibility that has never been really tested. That is the cooperative route whereby business law is amended to require that all businesses be cooperatives, thus having internal democratic ownership by the workforce.

This has never really been tried.

I am aware that the cooperative movement is strong in Cyprus. However the most touted example of cooperative success is the Mondragon Corporation in the Basque Country.

Studies show that the Mondragon Corporation, besides being hugely economically successful, is better able to withstand downturns in the economy because the workforce are stakeholders.

Does anyone know of any work done in comparing cooperatives in Cyprus with the Mondragon Corporation?

Also does anyone have any thoughts about how such a radical program could be introduced?

Cyprus already has a strong public sector. The next phase is surely to ensure that the private sector is made up solely of cooperatives.

[CBBB]

Cyprus already has a strong public sector. The next phase is surely to ensure that the private sector is made up solely of cooperatives.

To have a viable economy in Cyprus the strong Public sector needs to be privatised as far as possible and more cooperatives are definitely not required.

[supporttheunderdog]

Tsouki's dream is likely to turn into a nightmare if the so-called Communist economic model as adopted in many so-called communist countries were to be adopted since by and large they failed to deliver, leaving the people they were meant to benefit with very little.

Even China has abandoned a communist economic model in favour of a capitalist Free market type ownership model and is now making economic progress, and our own minolithic state owned bodies, which are over-manned, innedficient, expensive and provide a home for idlers, complete with Rusfeti,should be privatised. .

That said with a free-market economy co-operatives are a valid model of ownership: "every man a capitalist" so I have no problem at all with them, but they must compete on a level playing field. They can be succesful: Look also at John Lewies in the UK.

[tsukoui]

Thank you both for your kind and insightful replies...

I am certainly not advocating the Soviet Model, nor the Chinese, neither Mao's nor Deng's...

In fact what I am doing is following through the line of reasoning of that great proponent of the free-market, Hayek...

Hayek correctly analysed the problem with centrally-planned state economies...

He argued in terms of information theory, but we can paraphrase the argument in terms of democracy...

In a sense free-market economies are more democratic than centrally-planned, since with every unit of currency spent, individuals cast their votes on what they wish to see produced, whereas with the central plan this vote casting ability is delegated to the central planner...

The problem is that capitalist free market is not the most democratic possible either since the majority of votes are cast by those with the most capital...

The solution "every man a capitalist" which is equivalent to there being no class differences is thus exactly what I am proposing...

With co-operatives, there is no change to the free-market rules of competition, there is only change to the rules of ownership...

Changing the legal rules of ownership makes actually makes the free-market playing field more level and has the added bonus of removing the need for unions...

I hope this clarifies things...