I’ve looked at a few lists here and there, but it seems like there just aren’t many co-ops that recruit strangers online. Anyone have any experience working for a co-op as a dev? It seems like it would be an awesome way to structure a small web/app dev team. Part of me wants to try to start one myself, but it’s hard to imagine maintaining the motivation needed for a task like that when I can barely function as it is.
Anyway, what’s up with the lack of cooperatives? Sorry if this is the wrong comm, seemed like the best place
Yea, I would recommend against doing this in the US. It’s uncommon, which makes it harder, more expensive, and legally challenging, etc. It also paints a target on your back if conditions deteriorate.
Just form an LLC and make it a co-op via an operating agreement. The government doesn’t need to know why you pay people the amounts that you do or how you arrive at decisions. Keep it like a black box that looks like every other business from the outside.
What kind of target do you see getting painted by being in a coop? What scenario? What consequences?
They are like the most ineffective form of rebellion ever. I didn’t get into arguing with OP about the concept. But they are pretty famous for de-radicalizing themselves over the years and becoming as nasty as any other business. The legal structure incentivizes it and few if any can resist.
For one thing, imagine police responding to an incident at a known leftist coop vs just a regular old pillar of the community main street shop. How are they going to act? Or imagine how much more sway your voice has at city council meeting as a successful small business. Business owners are practically part of the capitalist priesthood, so you’re negating one of the biggest advantages for not a lot of gain. There are lots of other reasons, for example I think a day will come when we can use legitimate looking businesses to help people immigrate to countries that are better suited to withstand climate change, ostensibly for the purposes of labour.
A big reason why they degrade and de-radicalize imo is that they’re often started and operated by (trying not to be sectarian) consensus obsessed folks. While consensus is great, a more democratic centralist approach is probably best for the sake of efficiency. Basically coops are efficient because they’re horizontally organized and don’t need a heavy management layer, but then that’s negated by having to hash out every single decision ad nauseam.