From: Technotranscendence (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Date: Sat Nov 02 2002 - 06:50:03 MST
On Friday, November 01, 2002 9:43 PM Lee Corbin lcorbin@tsoft.com wrote:
> so·cial·ism Pronunciation Key (ssh-lzm)
> noun.
> Any of various theories or systems of social organization
> in which the means of producing and distributing goods is
> owned collectively or by a centralized government that
> often plans and controls the economy.
>
> The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between
> capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of
> the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has
> not yet been successfully achieved.
>
> So I predict that since so few now favor government
> involvement, the term in the future shall come to
> mean merely "owned collectively".
Well, that's the term -- not the concept. The term "tree," e.g., can
mean a type of plant, a GUI for file organization, or a heridatary
chart. I think many people who use "socialism" try to capitalize (pun
intended:) on various meanings. A lot of people use it to mean merely
welfare statism.
> So co-ops are socialist in that sense. What exactly distinguishes
> them from corporations in which the employees own stock?
Typically, worker owned industries are syndicalist.:)
On a more serious not, though, I don't see much difference -- except
that in current corporations where employees own stock, they may also
trade their stock, especially to non-employees. IIRC, syndicalists
don't allow non-employees to come into the picture. Strict socialists,
by my reckoning, would not allow employee ownership per se, since that
would be non-government ownership -- or, if you're not going to use
"government" excluding some members of the collective from ownership.
Also, usually the amount of stock owned is not necessarily equal to
other employees or equal to the amount of work one puts into the
company -- using the Left-wing view of work or even the more natural one
of income. (I mean I can work for ABC Company and buy lots of stock in
it with outside wealth that has nothing to do with my working for ABC
Company.)
My two cents!
Dan
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