open Democracy News Analysis - Companionism: enlarging democracy, Madoc Batcup - Comments

coreteamvn on "Companionism: enlarging democracy"

coreteamvn — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:50:58 +0000

We agree that the democratic element needs to be introduced to companies (idncc; interactive democratic network community company) as it could provide the institution with some internal stability through democratic inclusion of the major production and consumption forces.

On Vodes.Net, there is team beta tester consisting of 5 interest fractions (production and consumption functions):

artists,

user,

vn people (administration),

open movements and

objectivity (supervisory board; independent).

Each of those five interest fractions has a theoretical voting influence of 20% regarding the three governance tools listed below. Consequently, the individual voting weigh formula is [(1/x)*100] * 0.2 ( "x" denotes the interest fraction).

Governance tools:

important economic decisions (distribution of wealth); art 10 VN constitution

fundamental questions (long term direction); art 11 VN constitution

performance polls (assessment of performance & measuring the level of dissatisfaction of all production and consumption functions); art 12 VN constitution

The statutes (in German only at this point) are at www.vodes.net/constitution.

Joining Interest Fraction-objectivity

Skilled people who are supportive of the goals of our foundation (inter alia promotion of open movements) are invited to join the interest fraction objectivity and to actively contribute towards the implementation and improvement of such a "rational business democracy".

More Infos: www.vodes.net/rev/blogsection/Background/
Contact: coreteam AT vodes DOT net

Devonavar on "Companionism: enlarging democracy"

Devonavar — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:56:04 +0000

Why model companies on democracy? Corporations have become as powerful as they are because they are efficient generators of wealth and they aren't constrained by the hugely inefficient decision making process that is inherent in democracy. Large corporations are slow enough to change as it is; enforcing a democratic management structure would quickly topple the worlds largest corporations because their ability to make any sort of quick decision would be paralyzed. This is a bad thing: The financial collapse of the world's corporations would destroy the world economy.

Governments need to be democratic because they exist for their citizens, but this is not the case for corporations; employees are compensated for their membership in the company by being paid, not through social security as is the case in government. While motivated employees should certainly be able to express their ideas on how to improve the company (and a good management team will listen), they should not be able to change the course of the company. Running an effective company requires a cohesive vision and direction that does not work when diluted.

What you really want is for corporations to be held to the same code of moral responsibility as individuals. As it stands, the need for clean PR prevent the most heinous crimes from being being committed, but much can be hidden and swept under the rug. Perhaps "limited liability" should be made more limited so that board members can be held more accountable for their company's criminal actions. And, perhaps companies should be held more responsible for the well-being of their employees, though labour laws are already quite strict in many places.

In addition, the imbalance of power between corporations and individuals (or large and small corporations) needs to be addressed, perhaps by limiting the amout that can be spent on a civil suit. However, only so much can be done to counter the power of a large organization. Wealth will always convey power and privilige, no matter how it is organized.

Companionism: enlarging democracy, Madoc Batcup

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:36:27 +0000

The ability of mankind to exploit the world's resources has been immensely facilitated by the creation of large corporations, capable of marshalling enormous resources, sometimes on a global basis, to drive growth forward. These large companies have not only facilitated this process, they are one of its drivers. They need growth to satisfy their shareholders. In a capitalist economy, companies can be compared to bicycles (or, less kindly, sharks) - they require forward momentum to preserve their wellbeing and equilibrium. Their need for ever increasing profit and search for scale fosters consumerism, as companies urge customers to spend more money so that they can increase their sales quarter by quarter.

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