To ask how Socialism would work in the real world?

[NewNameNewShoes]

Not a trick question. I've seen a fair few people state "I'm a socialist" and just wondered what it really meant (I've a vague idea but realised I don't really understand it very much). Tried a quick Google but it brought up loads of essays and academic stuff - just need a paragraph-long overview.

I was never very interested in politics in my 20s as had too much going on personally. Was in a sales career which I hated for 15 years but which I was good at and which paid reasonably well. Found it hard to focus on the bigger picture when I had job related anxiety every day and an undiagnosed hormonal problem which made me lack energy and drive. Always felt like politics would have much less impact on my day to day life than changing career or solving immediate obstacles, but now I've become quite interested in it all.

If you wanted a company where the workers own the company, Mondragon wold be the classic example. It's been somewhat diluted over the years since neoliberal economics took over the world, but if you look at how they operated for a long time you can get the sense of it. Basically to come into the company you "buy" your job, and groups of workers can set up new initiatives within the company. Workers also are very much involved in managing the company. They finance their activities through a credit union owned and managed by the workers, and also had their own schemes for pensions, medical plans, etc, before such things were provided by the state.

It's quite interesting to read about, there is a lot of info in the Wiki article for anyone wanting to find out more

[quote ShastaBeast]@ZombieFan of course is a socialist model. The company is owned by the employees who share in the profits, and isn’t sold off as capital - capital = shares owned by private or corporate investors and run for their benefit.

And I doubt it would be seen as an unattractive prospect if it did sell out, investors would flock to it.

As for unions, the US has powerful unions surprisingly. And in other countries they do well with unions. Germany s lots of good working practices and a very well skilled workforce. Unlike here where we refuse to invest in our workforce and import them from other countries.[/quote]
John Lewis is not owned by its employees. It’s a company held in trust where profit is distributed to staff rather than shareholders at the behest of the original owner. It’s a form of capitalism in which profit is distributed to a defined stakeholder rather than just investors. To call it, or anything, a socialist company is daft. The ex MD went on to become a Tory mayor.

It’s also worth pointing out that Socialism creates state or public owned monopolies. It’s capitalism that rejects monopolies and sees them as inhibiting free market behaviour.