There, over the last 150 years, a network of consumer, farmer and worker-driven cooperatives has come to generate 30 percent to 40 percent of the region's GDP. Two of every three people in Emilia Romagna are members of co-ops.
So the other 60-70% of GDP is produced by one-third of the population?
I don't quite follow the description of capitalism either. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
So maybe the diary should be about "A Market that works for all". tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker
Capitalism -- control by those supplying the capital in order to return wealth to shareholders -- is only one way to drive a market.
Meaning, I don't agree with the description of capitalism. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
In common usage it refers to an economic system in which all or most of the means of production are privately owned and operated (commonly for profit), and where investments, production, distribution, income, and prices are determined largely through the operation of a "free market" rather than by centralized state control (as in a command economy).
Regarding direction of reform:
Reducing the discretionary power of the state would help, because the state would then be less able to discriminate and hence there would be less reward for power-seekers.
I suspect that strong federalism would help, by reducing the rewards for grabbing centralised power, and enabling instructive (and harder to control) diversity among more-local governments.
Forcibly de-merging (that is, splitting) large corporations would help, and wouldn't significantly impair market mechanisms (indeed, it would likely improve their operation).
A voting system that put the vote in the hands of people who had a more substantial incentive to pay attention would help. Today, an individual's vote has little chance of making a difference. There are systems that could correct this, while anchoring electoral power in the informed preferences of the general public.
Regarding the political power necessary to force reforms:
I have no idea, unless it is to make the internet a far more effective mechanism for truth-finding and deliberation. But that would require enlightened software development, perhaps as a result of one wealthy person with vision backing the effort. And this, in turn, would require enlightenment, which seems more difficult. Words and ideas I offer here may be used freely and without attribution.
Anything else?
Otherwise, I have to ask you to explain how our political systems fall short of democracy. tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker
If they don't I see no way to avoid the transformation to a plutocracy.
Another article from an Ohio guy on this Italy region cooperative movement seems to confirm the numbers.
Per person income is 50 percent higher in Emilia Romagna than the national average.
GDP is a macroeconomic measure with only a tenuous relation to microeconomic well being.
I agree that GDP (unless there's a factor of 10) is a very poor indicator of well-being (unsurprisingly since it was invented to measure things for monetary policy purposes :).
If I, in my role as a Money Market Bank, lend you $100 million and you, in your guise as a Financial Investment Firm, lend it to Jerome, in his guise as an oil investment banker, who lends it back to me total GDP has risen by $300 million even tho' no economic activity has taken place.
Maybe our monetary theory is fucked up because our monetary system is fucked up. tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker
M2 is M1 plus time related deposits.
M3 is the total estimated (WAG) amount of a currency in existence in any form.
The CB can interject extra money into the system at each of the 3 levels although the national Treasury and Mint usually have oversight and control of M1. Whether a CB uses M2 or M3 depends on the policies (goals) and the situational analysis and decision making processes of the various CBs.
(And you thought I couldn't drag in Epistemology, huh? :-)
What you describe looks like more money creation in our fractionnal banking system, am I wrong?
That seems reasonable, doesn't it? tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker
By the way, I have nothing against cooperatives, so long as they're not forced on the inhabitants. I would never join one, but that's just me. At the end of the day, I'm going to make my choices about products the same way I always have. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Maybe this is better than 20% of the people generating 80% of the wealth?
Maybe it's better if more people own individually smaller amounts of capital? tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker
The article only states that the non-member one-third is nearly twice as wealthy as the co-op two-thirds
How so? First of all you (questionably) accept GDP as a measure of "wealth", secondly you miss the point that a person may be member of a coop and be engaged in other economic activity elsewhere.
Do you bank with a bank or a credit union? tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker
If I said 30%-40% of GDP was produced by a certain set of companies, and two-thirds of the population were shareholders in those companies, would that not seem to add up?
A cooperative member is not a shareholder in the sense investor-expecting-return, but many people may take out membership as consumers, or simply to support the coop. They are not necessarily actively engaged in production.
