Agnapostate
Rookie
- Banned
- #341
Interesting theory. I can't say that I agree, because there is no chance that a complex economic system such as ours would function properly without a system of leveled management to oversee various operations of a business, all the way up to the very top. I think KK hit the nail on the head when she said that the problem isn't with hierarchy, it's with those in power not making ethical choices. There are plenty of instances where one person runs an entire company and is still able to not only maximize employee productivity AND satisfaction, but also show high profits, growth, and returns. The SAS Institute is a prime example. Ironically, they specialize in software that allows companies to better their enterprise resource management.
I don't believe that's the case, primarily because of the aforementioned principal-agent problems, as well as the prevalence of asymmetric information throughout the capitalist economy.
Specifically in the context of microeconomic analysis, Logue and Yates have certainly indicated that workers' self-management can generate efficiency that equals or exceeds that of a traditional capitalist firm. We might also consider the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation in Spain, which is operated through a system of workers' self-management and is the largest corporation in the Basque region and one of the largest corporations in Spain. We might consider the repossessed factories and workplaces in Argentina, such as the Hotel Bauen, the Brukman factory, and the Fabrica Sin Patrones, which have fared better in a system of worker control and democratic participation.
In a larger regional context, we might consider the Israeli kibbutzim, though I would hesitate to refer to them as an optimal example because of their strong associations with the ideology of Labor Zionist groups like Hashomer Hatzair and Habonim Dror. In a regional/national context, we could refer to Titoist Yugoslavia, and the benefits that it derived from worker-owned enterprises, although I'd be inclined to say that the same "ideological" issues exist there.
The most important example would be the Spanish Revolution and the horizontal federations of decentralized anarchist collectives and communes that existed for several years in Aragon, Catalonia, and the Levant. The 20% efficiency gain that I mentioned in Aragon is obviously of paramount importance, as well as important municipal gains that occurred in parts of Catalonia, such as Barcelona, for instance.