Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Cooperation Law for a Sharing Economy

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Cooperation Law for a Sharing Economy

by Janelle Orsi from Yes! website.

The author is a lot more optimistic about the growth of legal support for cooperative enterprises than I am.

Under capitalism the overlords (ruling class) like to see working people competing against each other as they enhance the profits of capitalists. As for capitalists themselves, they really don't like competition as evidenced by the ever greater concentration of corporations and the frequent reports of business collusion and price-fixing.

Still, for those of you involved in cooperative enterprises, this may offer some important information.

As the ground swells with people adopting more sharing and cooperative work and lifestyles, we can look forward to a growing body of law and literature on the subject.