The Good of Workplace Democracy The Moral Case for a Cooperative Economy

Preface and Acknowledgements 

1. Introduction: What is Workplace Democracy? 

1.1. Outline of the work 

1.2 What is a Democratic Firm and a Cooperative Economy? 

a. Democratic Firms and Socialism 

1.3 Ownership, Authority, and the Nature of the Firm 

a. Ownership and Control Rights 

b. Risk and Control 

1.4 Structure of the Moral Argument 

2. Establishing the Fundamental Goods 

2.1 Introduction 

2.2 Flourishing, Well-Being, and Aristotle 

2.3 The Nature of the Fundamental Goods 

2.4 The Fundamental Goods and their Justification 

a. The Good of Autonomy 

b. The Good of Self-Development 

c. The Good of Communal Solidarity 

d. Self-Determination Theory 

2.5 Promoting the Fundamental Goods 

a. Is it Too Costly to Promote the Fundamental Goods 

b. Our Moral Obligation to Promote the Fundamental Goods 

2.6 Conclusion 

3. Beyond the Political: The Need for a New Approach to Workplace Democracy 

3.1 Introduction 

3.2 The Political Theory of the Firm 

a. Versions of the Political Theory of the Firm 

b. Learning from the Political Theory of the Firm 

3.3 Moving Beyond the Political Theory of the Firm 

3.4 The Worry About Freedom 

3.5 Other Arguments for Workplace Democracy 

3.6 Conclusion 

4. Efficiency and Democratic Firms: Challenging the Economic Arguments Against   

    Democratic Firms 

4.1 Introduction 

4.2 The Three Main Versions of the Efficiency Criticism 

a. Economic Modeling and Empirical Observations 

4.3 The Ward, Domar, Vanek (WDV) Objection 

4.4 The Work Incentives Criticism 

4.5 The Transaction Cost Objection 

a. TCE: A Primer 

b. Rejecting TCE 's Analysis of Workplace Democracy 

c. Rejecting the Evolutionary Hypothesis 

4.6 The Establishment Problem 

a. The Path Dependency Thesis 

b. The Appropriation Thesis 

c. Financial Constraints 

4.7 Conclusion 

5. Personal Autonomy and Workplace Democracy 

5.1 Introduction 

5.2 Defining Autonomy 

5.3 Autonomy and Control in Democratic Firms 

a. Democratic Autonomy through Joint Control 

b. Autonomy in Democratic Firms 

5.4 Democratic Firms and the ‘Disposition to Autonomy’ 

a. Undermining the Authority Narrative 

b. Creating the Disposition to Autonomy 

5.5 Conclusion 

6. Self-Development and Workplace Democracy 

6.1 Introduction 

6.2 Self-Development as Practical and Active 

6.3 Elements of Self-Development 

6.4 Self-Development in Democratic Firms 

a. Autonomy in Democratic Firms 

b. Opportunity for Education and Diverse Experiences 

c. Moral Development 

6.5 Addressing Worries and Objections Regarding Self-Development in Democratic Firms 

a. Why are Democratic Firms best for Self-Development?

b. Is Self-Development Illiberal? 

6.6 Conclusion 

7. Communal Solidarity and Democratic Firms 

7.1 Introduction 

7.2 Communal Solidarity as Mutual Concern 

a. No Exploitation 

b. Mutual Concern 

7.3 Evidence for Communal Solidarity in Democratic Firms 

7.4 Answering Objections: Explaining Why Communal Solidarity is Present in Democratic Firms. 

a. Empirical Objections

b. Theoretical Objection 

7.5 Conclusion 

8. Moving Toward a Cooperative Economy 

8.1 The Moral Argument for a Cooperative Economy 

8.2 Transitioning to a Cooperative Economy

8.3 Democratic Firms in an Age of Democratic Deterioration  

Index 

Biography

S. Stewart Braun is Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Philosophy at Australian Catholic University. He works primarily on topics related to social ethics, political economy, and distributive justice. He is the coeditor of Virtue’s Reasons: New Essays on Virtue, Character and Reasons (Routledge 2017).