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ControversialCaleb South on September 4, 2016 at 1:03 amReply
I think it’s only fair that a company should be controlled by whoever owns it. For example, if I invest $1 million of my own money to start a business, since the money is mine I should be the one to dictate how it’s handled. Therefore the shareholders of a company should ideally control its management. Other affected parties like customers and employees have a right not to be harmed by the actions of the company, but they don’t have the right to control it either.
This is still compatible with a more communal or socialistic vision, if it is the employees or citizens themselves who own the company (i.e. possess the stock or provide the capital).
The typical corporation is governed by CEOs hired by a board of directors, under the control of shareholders. But shareholders often lack real control over the management. And other stakeholders, such as workers and local communities, have no power at all, or very little, even though their lives are strongly affected by decisions made by the corporations. There exist worker cooperatives in which workers have full control, and small firms and shops in which power is informally shared between owners and employees (very often family members).
In some countries, workers are represented in the board of directors of corporations. The IPSP report argues that power should be shared among the main stakeholders of the corporation, in particular workers.
Do you agree or disagree?