The End of Capitalism? Worker Cooperatives and Hegel’s Master Slave Dialectic
“In 2011, the same year that Occupy Wall Street injected dissatisfaction with the financial system into the American mainstream, Wolff founded Democracy at Work, a nonprofit that advocates for worker cooperatives–a business structure in which the employees own the company, and share decision-making power over salaries, schedules, and where profits are directed. “If I had to pinpoint right now where the transition away from capitalism is happening in the United States, it’s in worker co-ops,” Wolff says. Though he’s been championing the cause of cooperatives–a radically democratic departure from the top-down capitalist business structure–for years, certain recent events, like the 2008 recession and the presidency of Donald Trump, poster boy for corrupt capitalism, have galvanized a distinctly anti-capitalist movement in the U.S.“
‘“The move toward co-ops and the change in consciousness I’ve witnessed in workplaces and among my students are the two mechanisms of transformation that are now underway globally, and I’d like to say–it’s more a wish than anything else–that it’s too late to stop them,” Wolff says. “And the sheer beauty of this is that nothing fuels this movement more than capitalism’s own troubles, and the displeasure, disaffection, and anxiety it produces.”‘
Fast Company, September 18, 2017: “ The End Of Capitalism Is Already Starting–If You Know Where To Look,” by Eillie Anzilotti
“Economist Richard Wolff draws parallels between Hegel's master/slave dialectic and modern-day worker/employer relationship. The resemblance is uncanny. How do you solve this problem? Professor Wolff explains.”
YouTube April 21, 2017: “Master-Slave Dialectic in Capitalism and What to Do About It,” by Richard Wolff
