Premise
Where this draft begins.
Production should meet needs, enable good work and respect ecological limits. Ownership grants no unrestricted authority over other people.
Political direction
What should concretely change.
- 01
Prioritise cooperative and municipal forms of ownership.
- 02
Gradually transform large enterprises into democratically governed guilds.
- 03
Coordinate investment according to social need and resource impact.
- 04
Measure success through provision, time prosperity and ecological regeneration.
Safeguards
What must not be lost.
Personal possessions and private life remain protected.
Workplace democracy needs minority rights and independent conflict procedures.
Transitions must not endanger provision or individual livelihoods.
Open research
Not yet answered.
How can prices and scarcity signals be translated across complex supply chains?
Which transition models work for small, medium-sized and global enterprises?
The institutional proposal.
How can economic power be democratised without destroying provision, innovation, individual choice or investment capacity?
01 · Institutional model
Three spheres of ownership
Personal possessions remain private. Small and medium-sized enterprises may be private, cooperative or municipal. Systemically important networks and dominant corporations face graduated public or membership control.
The decisive question is who can decide over investment, surplus, work and closure.Democratic guilds
Workers elect councils, adopt statutes and control strategic decisions. User and public-interest chambers gain a voice where effects extend far beyond the enterprise.
A two-chamber structure prevents both capital domination and an exclusively producer-centred view.Plural investment funds
Regional funds combine public capital, cooperative shares, pension capital and a share of large corporate surpluses. Independent review separates feasibility from political priority.
Investments are published, time-limited and reviewed against provision and climate goals.Coordinated markets
Prices remain information signals for many goods. Basic provision, natural monopolies and hard ecological limits are not left to purchasing power alone.
Democratic planning sets limits and guarantees; decentralised enterprises decide within that corridor.02 · Transition path
Steps towards implementation.
Municipal procurement favours democratic, climate-compatible and transparent enterprises; advisory funds support cooperative succession.
- Level
- Municipality / canton
- Evidence
- Qualified procurement and secured jobs
- Reversal
- Evaluate criteria annually; suspend ineffective rules.
Establish works councils, profit transparency and worker rights of first refusal upon sale or closure.
- Level
- Federation
- Evidence
- Co-determination coverage and democratic buyouts
- Reversal
- Revise thresholds after independent evaluation.
Regional transformation funds finance decarbonisation, care infrastructure and worker buyouts.
- Level
- Canton / federation
- Evidence
- Provision, emissions, default rate and concentration
- Reversal
- Individual mandates expire; losses are accounted for publicly.
Natural monopolies and dominant networks face democratic ownership and governance duties.
- Level
- Federation / agreements
- Evidence
- Prices, access, resilience and democratic control
- Reversal
- Periodic popular and judicial review.
03 · Financing
How it could be funded.
- Redirect existing business support towards transformation goals.
- Use repayable public stakes rather than permanent blanket subsidies.
- Capture excess monopoly rents and unreinvested large surpluses.
- Combine cooperative shares, pension windows and municipal bonds with clear risk labelling.
04 · Public measures
How to judge the results.
- Median pay and pay ratios
- Working time and involuntary overtime
- Reliability of provision
- Emissions and material use
- Co-determination coverage
- Market and decision concentration
05 · Conflict cases
The model under pressure.
A democratic enterprise remains inefficient.
Proposed response: Open indicators, a restructuring mandate and temporary expertise; members then decide on restructuring, merger or closure.
Still unresolved: How can politically sustained losses be prevented from becoming permanent?
Workers externalise environmental costs.
Proposed response: Ecological budgets and affected persons’ rights are not subject to an internal vote; the public-interest chamber may challenge decisions.
Still unresolved: Which sanctions work without jeopardising provision?
Innovation requires very high-risk capital.
Proposed response: Competing funds, milestone finance and limited success participation allow risk without permanent private domination.
Still unresolved: How much unequal reward is compatible with equal power?
06 · Strong objections
Democracy slows every business decision.
The model separates operational responsibility from strategic constitutional decisions. Speed is measured but not treated as the only value.
Political funds become prey to parties and interest groups.
Multiple funds, published criteria, oversight by lot, conflict rules and judicial challenge limit capture.
07 · Sources