this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 220 points 2 years ago (24 children)

Socialists don't hate markets, they hate workers not having any power or democratic choice in how they interact in the market.

Workers owning the means of production just means the workers are doing the same work but they are in ownership of the factory and the profits. They will still sell the products they produce in a marketplace.

[–] hglman@lemmy.ml 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I, a socialist, hate markets. They are simplistic and functional artifacts of the available way to pass information.

[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

So, you would never trade with someone else something you have for something they have? You want to be entirely self sufficient?

If this isn't true, why do think markets serve no purpose?

[–] hglman@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Do you really think all exchange of goods is a market?

[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] hglman@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

So Christmas gifts are a market?

[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

No because I don't give you a gift only if you give me one. It's not a transaction. They are gifts.

...but you turned it into a semantic point. If I farm sheep and you bake bread, it's a market when I trade you wool for bread. If trade even as basic as this can't occur then you're relying on everyone to be self-sufficient.

The alternative is you're expecting everyone to put everything they produce into a kitty which is distributed to all, and I think that is a sure fire recipe for everyone to go hungry and for society to stagnate. There's little incentive to be productive, and no incentive to be inventive.

[–] hglman@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

Hunger is such a poor motivator.

[–] masquenox@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 years ago

They will still sell the products they produce in a marketplace.

There is no rule that states they have to sell squat in a marketplace. They could, but they also couldn't. That's the whole point of the workers owning the means of production - the workers involved makes those deicisions, not a capitalist or bureaucratic parasite class.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 8 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Do they actually trust their coworkers to run the company without tanking it almost immediatly? Most of my coworkers can barely make it through their own tasks without fucking something up, let alone actually having input on how the business is run.

[–] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 23 points 2 years ago

Some of the workers may be managerial. But the managerial workers don't own a disproportionate amount of the company, and they're not considered the "superior" of any other workers.

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

You must need a better job. I've had plenty of workplaces where I could count on everyone around me.

You know, the hiring manager usually has something to do with the quality of people hired. Maybe you could talk to them instead?

[–] original_ish_name@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago

If I made my hiring manager worried more about quality I wouldn't be hired

[–] Infynis@midwest.social 15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Most of my coworkers can barely make it through their own tasks without fucking something up

This is a problem with the company you work for, not your coworkers. I'm sure if they were paid more, were given more agency, and received better training, they'd be better elployees

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Either that or the reason they purposefully hire meth-addled freaks is because they want desperate people who won't fight for any of those things.

Source: Friend who works in a warehouse and has coworkers who are obviously there to get a paycheck to afford their fix and then move on. It's the company culture. They could choose to hire better people, or mentor the people who could grow, they don't.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

No, they're just idiots. Myself and others have had the same training and responsibilities and do fine. It's not that difficult of a job.

[–] potpie 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's not just about treating current employees well. It's also about offering enough at the hiring stage to attract more good workers. Higher starting pay and a better reputation as a place to work means more people applying, means that Methface Matt can't compete with TypeA Teresa to get hired in the first place.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 points 2 years ago

People lie in their interviews all the time. The amount of conversations I've had with my boss regarding people he's hired that turned out be idiots that have started with "I don't know what happened with that dude, he seemed totally normal in the hiring process". We're also restricted in what questions we can ask during interviews because asking people probing questions is apparently not fair according to our HR dept which makes it pretty easy for them to BS their way in. Then we're stuck with their dumb asses for months before HR lets us fire them.

[–] masquenox@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 years ago

Most of my coworkers can barely make it through their own tasks

I guess you haven't met many CEOs, then.

[–] pjhenry1216@kbin.social 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Didn't say they run it. The person who runs it can be simply another employee. It's just there are no outside investors and everyone has a vote on the board. You put someone in charge you trust but everyone as a whole has a say in big picture stuff with the person at the top being day to day and being held accountable to employees and not investors.

Capitalism fundamentally changes the relationship between workers and their work. One takes the value they create and gives it to someone else. One doesn't.

[–] CoLa666@feddit.de 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

But why would this employee put in that more work than anybody else? Just to get the same amount of compensation as anybody else? I certainly wouldn't put up with all the complications of leading a bunch of people without being paid extra.

[–] pjhenry1216@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

But why would this employee put in that more work than anybody else? Just to get the same amount of compensation as anybody else?

Who said that's the case?

[–] CoLa666@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Than I don't really get the idea. Could you elaborate?

  • As far as I understood, the company's shares belong to the employees ("everyone gets a seat on the board") and those elect a director which in turn organises the work structure, assigns roles etc. Correct?
  • Can he be replaced at all times?
  • How is the compensation of the employees determined?
  • How are employees handled which are not performing their duties?
  • Can employees be fired?
  • How can employees join and leave the company?
  • Do they return their shares on leaving?
  • Can they buy and sell their shares?
  • How do new employees get their shares? Are they assigned or bought?
  • How is capital raised for large long-term investments like a new machine?
  • If the employees bring up the capital, do they get interest?
  • What if no capital can be raised? Is the company terminated?
  • Can some employees put in more capital than others?
  • Is the financial gain distributed equally between the employees?
[–] datatitian@social.coop 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

@lightnsfw @dingus
You really think the people currently running your company are any different from those other coworkers?

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago

Yes I think so, because the people running the company have no interest in listening to the positions of the workers, especially if it makes them less money.

When the people working in the company have a democratic vote, they at least have a choice and don't have big mistakes dictated from upon high.

At least then, the workers can agree they all made a shitty mistake together. It doesn't mean workers are infallible. All humans are fallible. All humans make mistakes. The difference is the power dynamic, nothing else.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I think they have education related to the running of a large company whereas most of my coworkers barely made it through their IT certs and have some of the stupidest takes regarding how things should be done I've ever heard in my life.

[–] archomrade@midwest.social 5 points 2 years ago

Education related to the exploitation of their workers

Ftfy

[–] F4rtEmp3r0r@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You must be a joy to work with.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 points 2 years ago

I'm great to work with. No one has to worry if the task they assign me is going to be done right and on time.

[–] Wanderer@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How would that even work.

It's very very easy to do something like have a capitalist system where business and the rich are taxed. But you aren't on about that.

You could divide everything up today. But with change and new business ideas that system will never work. You think the people would want to invest in new automation, new ways of working, new industries. If it means growth and job losses? No never. Just look at the western car industry, or any big government owned industry. People don't want change, even things like running a factory 24/7 instead of a nice 9-5 is difficult.

Then Japan's comes along and does all this new stuff and puts most of the western workforce out of business.

[–] TheFascination 2 points 2 years ago

If worker-owned workplaces still operate within a market, there will still be pressure to compete with other companies. People can still come up with new ideas to compete and change can still happen.

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