Plural Cooperativism. The Material Basis of Democratic Corporate Governance

Abstract This paper argues that democratizing corporations requires more than simply allocating control rights to employees while leaving ownership structures intact, because such an arrangement leaves democratic decision-making vulnerable to the persistent threat of disinvestment. True democratic control requires a deeper transformation – specifically, a foundation in social ownership. To this end, various models of social ownership are critically examined. While none offers a satisfying solution on its own, their strengths can be combined. From this emerges the concept of Plural Cooperativism : a hybrid, society-wide model of cooperative ownership that systematically integrates other forms of social ownership, allowing for limited private stock ownership, counterbalanced by public stock ownership and a more democratic reallocation of control rights over private ownership.