Programme for Research and Actions on the Development of the Labour Market

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Programme for Research and Actions on the Development of the Labour Market PROGRAMME FOR RESEARCH AND ACTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LABOUR MARKET ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCES OF AND PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY WORKER TAKE-OVERS OF COMPANIES IN DIFFICULTY OR BANKRUPT MAIN REPORT *** * PAOODOCUMEN COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEA COMMUNITIES This document has been prepared for use within the Commission. It does not necessarily represent the Commission's official position. Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1987 ISBN 92-825-7580-2 Catalogue number: CB-50-87-033-EN-C © ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels - Luxembourg, 1987 Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium Commission of the European Communities PROGRAMME FOR RESEARCH AND ACTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LABOUR MARKET ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCES OF AND PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY WORKER TAKE-OVERS OF COMPANIES IN DIFFICULTY OR BANKRUPT Main Report Author: Rob Paton Cooperative Research Unit The Open University U.K. Study No. 85/4 Document This document has been prepared for use within the Commission. It does not necessarily represent the Commission's official, position. Copyright ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels - Luxembourg, 198.7 Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. The research (Study 85/4) on which these reports were based was financed by the Commission of the European Communities as part of its programme for Research and Actions on the Development of the Labour Market. The analysis and conclusions are the responsibility of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect any views held within the Commis• sion of the European Communities nor do they commit it to a parti• cular view of the Labour Market or any other policy matters. PROGRAMME FOR RESEARCH AND ACTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LABOUR MARKET ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCES OF AND PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY WORKER TAKE-OVERS OF COMPANIES IN DIFFICULTY OR BANKRUPT Summary Contents Aims of Study Attempts at WTO: Why, When and Where Achieving a WTO Planning the Business Organising a WTO Mobilising external support After the take-over: varieties of success and failure Policy issues Rationales for the Support of WTO Instruments, pitfalls and dilemmas Some General Principles Priorities for enhancing the support of WTOs Removing obstacles to WTO The Marginality Problem the 'Large Plant' Problem The Evaluation and Exchange of Experience Aims of the Study The aims of the study were (i) to provide a comparative review of the experience of Worker Take-Overs (WTOs) and attempted WTOs, in 6 member states, (ii) to identify the factors that facilitate or restrict attempts to form rescue enterprises, with particular attention to - roles and attitude of Trade Union organisations - roles and attitude of employers' organisations - access to capital - national and local Government attitudes - legal frameworks - role and experience of support agencies (and their scale and distribution) (iii) to identify areas of agreement concerning common pitfalls, dilemmas and good practice in the support of WTOs as well as key policy issues concerning them. Six countries were selected for the study. Italy has had the most extensive, and the most successful, experience of WTOs, with perhaps 1000 cases over the last decade. These generally involve small or medium size enterprises, and usually employ, between say, 30 and 200 people in the re-established enterprises. This experience has been concentrated in particular areas of Northern Italy, creating a context in which WTOs have become a normal feature of economic life. The industrialised regions of Spain have also seen very large numbers of WTOs, reflecting both the severity of the economic restructuring it has undergone and the extent of public support for WTOs over the last 10 years. In France the incidence and reputation of WTOs have both fluctuated sharply over the last decade. More recently, between 50 and 100 WTOs per year have continued to occur, with the most promising results being achieved in sectors where co-operatives have traditionally had a presence. British experience has been far more limited, with only about 80 cases in total. However, the number of WTOs has tended to increase in recent years, particularly through the efforts of local authorities in relation to local economic initiatives. More WTOs are beginning to emerge in certain areas; and Trade Union attitudes are being reconsidered. In Denmark only 14 WTOs have occurred. The great majority of these have been commercially successful so the interesting question is why there have not been more. This highlights the importance of economic and cultural factors and the traditions of the labour movement in understanding the conditions which give rise to WTO and make it a realistic strategy. In West Germany, there have been 13 WTOs in the last two decades, but well over 30 attempts, most occurring in the last few years. In general, the experience of and capacity to support WTOs has increased quite rapidly in the last few years - particularly around Bremen - but starting from a very limited base, so that the institutional obstacles remain considerable. Attempts at WTO: Why, When and Where The great majority of attempts at a WTO are a response to the threat of unemployment. As such, they tend to occur: 0 in industries undergoing re-structuring ° where the workforce possesses industry-specific skills for which demand is limited ° where the threatened plant or enterprise is a major employer on which the locality is economically dependent. Such enterprises may be badly run down with little, if any, prospect of commercial viability. However attempts at WTO do not only occur in such circumstances. The owners of a viable, or potentially viable, enterprise or plant may wish to dispose of it for a wide variety of reasons and yet they may fail to attract a purchaser. Such failures in the market for enterprises arise, essentially, because of the high transaction costs associated with the decision to purchase an economic unit, and the likely difficulties of managing the acquisition effectively. Hence the prospect of a high return will be necessary in order to justify the risks involved. In short, an enterprise or plant may be threatened with closure not because it is unprofitable but becuase it is not considered to be profitable enough. Whether or not the threat of closure and unemployment stimulates an attempt at a WTO depends on the confidence of the workforce and the credibility of the WTO idea. In this respect the attitude of various external parties is crucial. In general, mainstream Trade Union movements have been doubtful or hostile towards WTO. More recently, rising unemployment and the failure of traditional strategies for saving jobs have prompted a reconsideration of the WTO option and the position is now more complex and fluid with, for example, differences between unions, and between national and local levels, in several countries. In countries with worker co-operative sectors, the extent of support offered by movement bodies for WTOs has, on occasions, been a controversial issue. WTOs have been seen as offering great opportunities and also great dangers. But in general the stronger the worker co-operative sector in a country, the more credible is the WTO idea, and the more support for WTO attempts there is available. The actions of governments - whether at national, regional or local level - have also influenced the number of WTO attempts occurring in different countries and areas. Though their reasons have differed somewhat, governments of both the right and left have on occasions provided support for WTO, and in other contexts, both have opposed WTOs. In general, government actions towards WTO are best understood in relation to political pressures for job preservation and to the prevailing reputation of WTO for that purpose. Overall, it is clear that attempts at a WTO are no longer an entirely spontaneous initiative by the workforce. It is a response to the threat of closure which has variously been promoted or discouraged, - either explicity or tacitly. Success tends to breed success. The credibility of the WTO idea and the availability of support for WTO attempts is affected by the success or failure of previous attempts. Over the last ten years, this had lead to concentrations of WTO activity in particular localities. In a historical perspective such self-sustaining tendenceis may explain the very different institutional and cultural patterns of the labour and co-operative movements that have developed in, for example, Denmark and Northern Italy. In any event, it seems that the WTO response is more readily undertaken and accepted where collective entrepreneurship and decentralised self-help are established within the labour movement and the wider society. Such cultural considerations provide a caution against assuming that the experience of one country or region can be easily reproduced elsewhere. Achieving a WTO When a workforce attempts to take over a business this involves the preparation of a business plan, the creation of a new organization, and the mobilization of external support. These three areas of activity are closely inter-related. Planning the business The willingness of the workforce to accept responsibility for ensuring viability is critical for the formulation of a realistic business plan - and the discussion and preparation of the plan by the workforce is the vehicle by which it starts to discover and come to terms with the implications of a WTO. Decisions over job losses present these implications most starkly. While a substantial reduction in employment is commonly required there are a number of ways in which the difficulties this poses can be handled without jeopardising the WTO - particularly where there is external support from public agencies and other worker co-operatives. The preparation of a credible business plan also depends on whether the workforce can obtain the necessary information and advice.
Recommended publications
  • The Diminishing Power and Democracy of Hong Kong: an Analysis of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement and the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement
    Portland State University PDXScholar University Honors Theses University Honors College Summer 2021 The Diminishing Power and Democracy of Hong Kong: An Analysis of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement and the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement Xiao Lin Kuang Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/honorstheses Part of the Asian Studies Commons, and the Other International and Area Studies Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Kuang, Xiao Lin, "The Diminishing Power and Democracy of Hong Kong: An Analysis of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement and the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement" (2021). University Honors Theses. Paper 1126. https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.1157 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in University Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. The diminishing power and democracy of Hong Kong: an analysis of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement and the Anti-extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement by Xiao Lin Kuang An undergraduate honors thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts In University Honors And International Development Studies And Chinese Thesis Adviser Maureen Hickey Portland State University 2021 The diminishing power and democracy of Hong Kong Kuang 1 Abstract The future of Hong Kong – one of the most valuable economic port cities in the world – has been a key political issue since the Opium Wars (1839—1860).
    [Show full text]
  • Reclaiming Their Shadow: Ethnopolitical Mobilization in Consolidated Democracies
    Reclaiming their Shadow: Ethnopolitical Mobilization in Consolidated Democracies Ph. D. Dissertation by Britt Cartrite Department of Political Science University of Colorado at Boulder May 1, 2003 Dissertation Committee: Professor William Safran, Chair; Professor James Scarritt; Professor Sven Steinmo; Associate Professor David Leblang; Professor Luis Moreno. Abstract: In recent decades Western Europe has seen a dramatic increase in the political activity of ethnic groups demanding special institutional provisions to preserve their distinct identity. This mobilization represents the relative failure of centuries of assimilationist policies among some of the oldest nation-states and an unexpected outcome for scholars of modernization and nation-building. In its wake, the phenomenon generated a significant scholarship attempting to account for this activity, much of which focused on differences in economic growth as the root cause of ethnic activism. However, some scholars find these models to be based on too short a timeframe for a rich understanding of the phenomenon or too narrowly focused on material interests at the expense of considering institutions, culture, and psychology. In response to this broader debate, this study explores fifteen ethnic groups in three countries (France, Spain, and the United Kingdom) over the last two centuries as well as factoring in changes in Western European thought and institutions more broadly, all in an attempt to build a richer understanding of ethnic mobilization. Furthermore, by including all “national
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of the Interpretation of Populism from the 1950S to Present
    Department of Political Science Course in Comparative History of Political Systems THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERPRETATION OF POPULISM FROM THE 1950S TO PRESENT AN HISTORICAL EXCURSUS Supervisor: Professor Giovanni Orsina Candidate: Matteo Passigli Co-Supervisor: Vincenzo Emanuele Academic Year 2017-2018 Index Introduction Chapter I – Understanding populism: a general idea of the populist debate 1. Thinking about populism 2. Approaching populism 2.1. Populism as Forma Mentis 2.2. Ideological Approach 2.3. Political-Strategical Approach 3. Populism around the world 3.1. Europe 3.2. United States 3.3. Latin America 4. The Protagonists of populism 4.1. Populism in power Chapter II – The interpretation of populism in the 1969-1989 period 1. Historical and Conceptual Background 2. A first ideological approach to populism 3. The New and Differentiated Approaches to Populism: Social Mobilization, Integration and Structural Changes 4. The populist Upsurge in Latin America: Macroeconomic Populism and Social Modernization 4.1 The roots of a National Populist Movement: The Case of Argentina Chapter III – The interpretation of populism in the 1990-2009 period 1. Historical and Conceptual Background 2. New-Populism Cases 3. New Right-Wing Populism: Immigration and Xenophobia 4. Democracy and Populism 5. Communication and Media within the New Populist Surge 5.1 Media-Populism in Italy: the Lega Nord Case Chapter IV – The interpretation of populism in the 2009-today period Main literature and thoughts Conclusion Bibliography Introduction The objective of this work is to make a comparative historical analysis of the concept of populism and its interpretation. Following the course of history and of main literature and authors, this excursus will illustrate how the interpretation of populism has been changing during the XX century in different regions, such as the United States, Europe and Latin America.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Policy and Politics: the Central State and Linguistic Minorities in Spain and Italy, 1992-2010
    Language Policy and Politics: The Central State and Linguistic Minorities in Spain and Italy, 1992-2010 Naomi Amelia Stewart Wells Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Modern Languages and Cultures July 2013 i The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his/her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2013 The University of Leeds and Naomi Amelia Stewart Wells The right of Naomi Amelia Stewart Wells to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ii Acknowledgements I would like to first thank my supervisors, Professor Brian Richardson and Dr Angel Smith, for their invaluable help throughout my research, and for ensuring that the PhD process was both enjoyable and rewarding. Thank you to Brian for supervising me from MA to PhD and for his continued support throughout. I would also like to thank the University of Leeds for its generous funding and specifically the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. I am particularly grateful to Dr Gigliola Sulis and the staff in Italian for their academic and professional support. Fieldwork would not have been possible without the willing participation of the interviewees who generously gave up their often limited time. Particular thanks to Giuseppe Corongiu, José Manuel Pérez Fernández, Oskar Peterlini and Tiziana Sinesi for their additional assistance in locating sources.
    [Show full text]
  • The Inclusive Democracy Project: a Rejoinder - TAKIS FOTOPOULOS
    The Inclusive Democracy project: A rejoinder - TAKIS FOTOPOULOS The International Journal of INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY, Vol. 1, No. 3 (May 2005) The Inclusive Democracy project: A rejoinder TAKIS FOTOPOULOS I would like first to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the contributors taking part in this special issue. It is indeed through the development of a comprehensive dialogue on the crucial issues that the Inclusive Democracy (ID) project raises that we could meaningfully assess its merits and possible weaknesses. In the lines that will follow the intention is not to engage in any kind of polemic against any of the distinguished contributors but simply to give alternative explanations, from the ID perspective, to the reservations, or even criticisms, raised against it. I hope that the bona fide spirit within which this debate takes place will be recognized by everybody and the fruitful dialogue developed here will function as a catalyst for its further expansion in the future. I hope that most in the radical Left would agree today on the need for the expansion of such a dialogue on the contours of a future society at a moment when many —particularly within the anti-globalization movement— assert that ‘another world is possible’ without even taking the trouble to define this world . But, if this movement is not capable of giving at least the contours of such an alternative world (and this is the objective of the ID project) then it is bound to register in popular memory as simply a protest movement and not as a liberatory movement —the kind of movement we need today to move forward towards a new society.
    [Show full text]
  • Autonomy and Borders in an Evolving Europe Principles, Frameworks And
    30th SESSION Strasbourg, 22-24 March 2016 CPR30(2016)02-final 24 March 2016 Autonomy and borders in an evolving Europe Principles, frameworks and procedures for protecting and modifying status, competences and borders of sub-national entities within domestic law Governance Committee Rapporteur:1 Karl-Heinz LAMBERTZ, Belgium (R, SOC) Resolution.398(2016) ..................................................................................................................................3 Recommendation 385(2016).......................................................................................................................5 Explanatory memorandum ..........................................................................................................................7 Summary The balance of opposing principles of State unity and sub-national autonomy needs continuous adaptation. More profound adaptation may provoke changes in the distribution of competencies, or even regarding the legal/constitutional status of sub-national entities. Frequently, controversy and conflict between national government and subnational entity is the inevitable consequence. Based on the comparative method, this report examines normative guarantees and procedures provided by various European domestic laws for modifying subnational constitutions, competencies and financial resources of subnational entities, boundaries and territorial status as well as principles governing conflict prevention and resolution. The comparative evaluation identifies good practice
    [Show full text]
  • Hong Kong: the Rise and Fall of “One Country, Two Systems”
    Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of “One Country, Two Systems” William H. Overholt December 2019 Hong Kong: The Rise and Fall of “One Country, Two Systems” William H. Overholt December 2019 hong kong: The Rise and Fall of “One Country, Two Systems” about the author William Overholt is a Senior Research Fellow, focusing on Chinese/Asian economic development, political development, and geopolitics with the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. During 2013–15 he also served as President of the Fung Global Institute in Hong Kong. His career includes 16 years doing policy research at think tanks and 21 years running investment bank research teams. Previously he held the Asia Policy Distinguished Research Chair at RAND’s California headquarters and was Director of the Center for Asia Pacific Policy; concurrently he was Visiting Professor at Shanghai Jiaodong University and, earlier, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Korea’s Yonsei University. During 21 years in invest- ment banking, he served as Head of Strategy and Economics at Nomura’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2001, and as Managing Director and Head of Research at Bank Boston’s regional headquarters in Singapore. For Bankers Trust, he ran a country risk team in New York from 1980 to 1984, then was regional strategist and Asia research head based in Hong Kong from 1985 to 1998. At Hudson Institute from 1971 to 1979, Dr. Overholt directed planning studies for the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, National Security Council, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Council on International Economic Policy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Interrelation Between Democracy and Responsibility: the Greek Crisis As a Paradigm Case for the EU
    The Interrelation Between Democracy and Responsibility: The Greek Crisis as a Paradigm Case for the EU La interrelacción entre democracia y responsabilidad. La crisis griega como caso paradigmático para la UE WOLF-JÜRGEN CRAMM Bern University, Switzerland ABSTRACT One of the main lessons to be learned from the Greek crisis is that large scale supranational communitarisation is a danger for democracy if mutual obligations between members undermine substantially the possibilities F of political choice for the single member states. I argue that a well-balanced 9 relation between (self-) responsibility, solidarity, performance incentives and F democracy involves taking subsidiarity serious, as well as to admit a certain amount of institutional flexibility. This flexibility is demanded especially in the case of large scale communities which include countries as members, like the EU, and in which the basic ideas of social, economical and financial policy are rather heterogeneous. Democracy, responsibility and solidarity must be in a well balanced relation for any community to function and to be generally acceptable to the citizens. This includes the defence of rather ambitious forms of civil participation and sovereignty of the people against the paternalistic pretensions of experts or of political and cultural elites. And responsibility — as a basic condition for democracy— requires that the design of the contractual basis of the EU must make possible that voting communities really assume responsibility for their decisions, which includes bearing possible negative consequences of these decision on themselves. Preserving a certain leeway for differing decisions about economical, financial or social questions is necessary for giving democratic substance to the demand of the primacy of politics.
    [Show full text]
  • DIRECTLY-DELIBERATIVE POLYARCHY Joshua Cohen And
    DIRECTLY-DELIBERATIVE POLYARCHY Joshua Cohen and Charles Sabel[1] 1. INTRODUCTION In this essay we defend a form of democracy that we will call "directly- deliberative polyarchy." We argue that it is an attractive kind of radical, participatory democracy with problem-solving capacities useful under current conditions and unavailable to representative systems. In directly deliberative polyarchy, collective decisions are made through public deliberation in arenas open to citizens who use public services, or who are otherwise regulated by public decisions. But in deciding, those citizens must examine their own choices in the light of the relevant deliberations and experiences of others facing similar problems in comparable jurisdictions or subdivisions of government. Ideally, then, directly deliberative polyarchy combines the advantages of local learning and self-government with the advantages (and discipline) of wider social learning and heightened political accountability that result when the outcomes of many concurrent experiments are pooled to permit public scrutiny of the effectiveness of strategies and leaders. One starting point for our argument is a commonplace of contemporary political debate: that current economic and political institutions are not solving problems they are supposed to solve, in areas of employment, economic growth, income security, education, training, environmental regulation, poverty, housing, social service delivery, or even basic personal safety. A second point of departure is the intrinsic appeal of collective decision-making that proceeds through direct participation by and reason-giving between and among free and equal citizens. Directly-deliberative polyarchy is the natural consequence of both beginnings: desirable both in itself and as a problem- solver. That is what we hope to show, or at least make plausible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Growth of “Localism” in Hong Kong
    Current affairs China perspectives The Growth of “Localism” in Hong Kong A New Path for the Democracy Movement? YING-HO KWONG series of political protests in recent years, including localist rallies maintain harmonious relations, and supported the reversion of sovereignty for the June 4 Massacre, anti-parallel trading protests, and the Mong from Britain to China after 1997 under the principle of “One Country, Two AKok Riot, have triggered concerns over the development of “localism” Systems.” (4) In fact, Hong Kong’s democrats have always been divided by (bentu zhuyi 本土主義 ) in Hong Kong. For decades, traditional pan-demo - ideological differences, but have sought room for co-operation on political cratic parties ( fan minzhupai 泛民主派 ) have been struggling with the Chi - issues. The collaboration among democrats strengthened during and after nese government over political development. Although many of them have the Tiananmen Massacre. During the 1989 democracy movement in China, persistently bargained with the Beijing leaders, progress towards democracy Hong Kong democrats formed the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patri - remains stagnant. Thus, Hong Kong’s democrats have been beset by “tran - otic Democratic Movements in China to support the Beijing protesters. In sition fatigue,” which commonly exists in hybrid regimes that combine both the meantime, disagreements among democrats generally decreased be - democratic and authoritarian elements. (1) A growing number of Hong Kong cause the majority shared the common goal of supporting democratic de - people, especially youngsters, have become impatient, disappointed, and velopment in China against the bloody clampdown by the authorities. (5) sceptical towards the existing pan-democratic parties, and have shifted into The wave of democracy movements further intensified after 1997.
    [Show full text]
  • “Localism” in Hong Kong a New Path for the Democracy Movement?
    China Perspectives 2016/3 | 2016 China’s Policy in the China Seas The Growth of “Localism” in Hong Kong A New Path for the Democracy Movement? Ying-ho Kwong Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/7057 DOI: 10.4000/chinaperspectives.7057 ISSN: 1996-4617 Publisher Centre d'étude français sur la Chine contemporaine Printed version Date of publication: 1 September 2016 Number of pages: 63-68 ISSN: 2070-3449 Electronic reference Ying-ho Kwong, « The Growth of “Localism” in Hong Kong », China Perspectives [Online], 2016/3 | 2016, Online since 01 September 2016, connection on 14 September 2020. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/7057 © All rights reserved Current affairs China perspectives The Growth of “Localism” in Hong Kong A New Path for the Democracy Movement? YING-HO KWONG series of political protests in recent years, including localist rallies maintain harmonious relations, and supported the reversion of sovereignty for the June 4 Massacre, anti-parallel trading protests, and the Mong from Britain to China after 1997 under the principle of “One Country, Two AKok Riot, have triggered concerns over the development of “localism” Systems.” (4) In fact, Hong Kong’s democrats have always been divided by (bentu zhuyi 本土主義 ) in Hong Kong. For decades, traditional pan-demo - ideological differences, but have sought room for co-operation on political cratic parties ( fan minzhupai 泛民主派 ) have been struggling with the Chi - issues. The collaboration among democrats strengthened during and after nese government over political development. Although many of them have the Tiananmen Massacre. During the 1989 democracy movement in China, persistently bargained with the Beijing leaders, progress towards democracy Hong Kong democrats formed the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patri - remains stagnant.
    [Show full text]
  • Kris Fowler MA Economics for Transition 2016-17 Dissertation
    Tessellating Dissensus: Resistance, Autonomy and Radical Democracy Can transnational municipalism constitute a counterpower to liberate society from neoliberal capitalist hegemony? Kris Fowler MA Economics for Transition 2016-17 Dissertation 1 “See the world through the eyes of society’s weakest members, and then tell anyone honestly that our societies are good, civilised, advanced, free.” Zygmunt Bauman “The word without action is empty; action without the word is blind; and action and the word outside the spirit of the community is death.” Indigenous Proverb, South Western Colombia “The authentic unit of political life is the municipality.” Murray Bookchin 2 ABSTRACT In this thesis I explore the idea and the newly invigorated movement of municipalism as a social, political and economic unit of organisation emerging in response to the ecological, social and psychological failures of the present neoliberal capitalist economy and the democratic crisis of the centralised state. I focus on the intersection of theory and practice where contemporary social movements are taking resistance into existing political institutions to prefigure a new radically democratic society. Learning from experiences in Frome, Barcelona and around the world I contend that the municipality is the organisational scale best able to bring about a new economic logic for the transition to a sane, sustainable, free and compelling twenty-first century life through truly democratic and authentically political processes. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The journey didn't begin with this
    [Show full text]