Strategies for Change

Cooperative development is the most important social change work that a person can do.

There is widespread agreement on the need for a bold economic development strategy aimed at realigning the interests of business with those of local communities. Less clear is what precisely needs to be done. We argue that an effective way to achieve this goal is by decommodifying business ownership through the democratisation of private companies.

Stefan Gruber, a Carnegie Mellon professor of architecture and urbanism, sees cities as a prime site of struggle between capitalism and commons, and at the same time more accessible than most national or international policy venues.

Turning football into a common, managed directly by the players and the fans, is a feasible possibility and has already been attempted.

After thirteen years in operation, Float On will be embarking on its next great adventure: converting into a Worker Owned Cooperative, entirely managed and owned by their current staff. Graham and Ashkahn will explain what makes co-ops special, why it can be a meaningful option for transitioning out of your business, and what it takes to pull a crazy plan like this off.

Tech worker cooperatives have the potential to provide particularly crucial infrastructure for the communication and coordination necessary for a liberatory movement and a robust and just economy.

GEO interviewed Mance in early 2024 hoping to better understand his work and thoughts on solidarity economy, particularly with regards to the Solidarius.net platform. The interview was conducted in Spanish, and has been edited for clarity.

In Thailand, several traditional cooperatives are offering products and services through digital platforms. While these may be considered Platform Co-ops, their primary revenue does not stem from the platform but from conventional business operations. This differs from the focus of this blog article, which refers to businesses that operate online through websites or mobile apps and are characterized by democratic decision-making and platform ownership by workers and users.

Stacco Troncoso gives an overview of the DisCO (Distributed Cooperative) model, which he alternately describes as a brand, an econoimc LARP, and an open source conspiracy to take over the world.

Having successfully fought for regulatory reform for all taxi workers in the past and facing the realities of a shrinking taxi industry in San Diego, UTWSD, in its mission of pursuing taxi worker well being, has turned to a vision of promoting economic democracy through cooperative means.