A Ramble on Co-ops

A co-op is business made of workers with customers who are members with voting rights on how the business runs, so the shareholder is the consumer.

Having shareholders as the ultimate recipient of the goods or services cuts out some of the dangers I've highlighted before about shareholder based businesses but not all of them but consumers can be sheep like wanting what someone else has and not focusing on what could be, ultimately stifling development. Voting itself is flawed as people will likely vote with the crowd not wanting to be on the losing team. In circumstances where tough decisions have to be made the executive committee will likely have a tough time convincing people or needs be done and possibly lose favour ultimately costing them their place on the committee.

Worker run will hit problems if things get tough for the business, when sacrifices need to be made they won't make them. A lazy worker won't be focused on quality just the sale whilst riding on the back of the more efficient or skilled worker, attempts to compensate for that risk will demoralise the skilled worker and they may end up being labelled a Koulack. The worker will lose when they don't/can't work unless the co-op has some level of personal indemnity insurance which will hurt profits or the worker risks only being paid for what they produce. If sales are seasonal they will risk low income in off seasons.

A successful co-op will still need a hierarchical system of control, executive committee, treasurer etc. but they're more likely to be voluntary which may mean lower quality. Without a executive committee it will fall into disarray and risk more embezzlement than without out but even with a committee there's a risk of embezzlement.

That's the negative down what's the benefits?
As the consumer is the benefactor and the democratic force they have more control over what they can buy and where there business goes. They will pay a lower price for there goods. They can inflate their sense of altruism and feed their ego too.

The worker gets more of the profit from sales. They can choose their working hours and rate of production. Knowing the product innately allows for better sales and gives greater satisfaction for selling it. As co-ops are often require membership to be a customer this gives a reasonably locked in customer base.

I'll argue co-ops will work best in a deregulated capitalist free market but that does open them up to liability for bad goods which will damage the co-op as a whole. In a free market they will be a cornerstone to generate competition, forcing "owner run" businesses to compete on price, quality and first to market products/services. So any socialists reading this are probably frothing at the mouth over this, "B-b-buh worker owned" so what? Any socialist regime has not been run by workers, it's always bureaucrats disconnected from the industry running operations. The workers are just the tool to get those bureaucrats in power. They will regulate co-ops into inoperable circumstances and favor government markets/places of sale over anything that can compete or highlight their incompetence.