Good Work and Economic Democracy

"Within the workplace, the content and conditions of work are largely controlled by employers who often have an interest in degrading the quality of work, both to increase productivity and to increase their control over employees in the workplace. Outside the workplace, employers have both an incentive and the power to undermine measures that would improve the quality of work through the political process."

"In its most principled forms, workplace democracy abolishes the capitalist class and puts all decisions within the firm, including decisions over the content and conditions of work, into the hands of that firm's workers or their elected representatives. Like the more familiar device of collective bargaining, this model of economic organization empowers the very agents who have the strongest interest in improving their work."

"Workplace democracy goes beyond collective bargaining by completely eliminating the persistent pressure to degrade work that emanates from the capitalist class and its managerial and political agents."

Political philosophers contend that justice requires all people access to good work—skilled employment offering meaningful cooperation, autonomous decision-making, and decent conditions. Achieving this faces significant obstacles from capitalist class power. Employers control workplace content and conditions, often degrading work quality to increase productivity and control. Employers also use political influence to undermine work-improvement measures. Addressing these dual problems requires targeting capitalist workplace hierarchy and class structure. Workplace democracy, which abolishes the capitalist class and places all firm decisions in workers' or their representatives' hands, offers a solution. Unlike collective bargaining alone, workplace democracy eliminates the persistent pressure from capitalist interests to degrade work conditions and quality.

Read at Apaonline