So what do we do? Obviously (in my book), the long term answer is that we have to destroy capitalism. As long as rich people stay rich, they will pay and lie and cheat and steal in order to preserve their wealth - we have ample evidence of this.

But capitalism isn't getting destroyed overnight, right? Like, even the most die-hard revolutionary can acknowledge that. So the most salient question, for me, is what we can do in the meantime.

2/?

Well, we can work toward worker empowerment as much as possible within the current system. Unionizing your workplace is working towards socialism. Forming a worker-owned co-op is working towards socialism. Both of these alternatives work towards reducing the influence of billionaires in your workplace. *Yes*, you still have to compete in "the market" (which is often tilted towards the big players), so this isn't a long-term solution.

3/?

But that's where word-of-mouth, organic growth, building community ties, and so much more comes in, right? Like, we're not just trying to beat the billionaires at their own game - we're trying to craft a different kind of society entirely. A kinder society that cares about everyone, that seeks to lift everyone up, that wants to *empower* everyone.

We can't do that by building something that outwardly looks the same as the status quo.

4/?

This often means that e.g. worker-owned co-ops grow slower than traditional corporations which take tons of venture capital. But at the same time, the goal of a worker-owned co-op isn't an "exit" (or a buyout) - it's to establish a long-term presence in the community (physical or virtual). The end goal isn't profit per se - that's just the vehicle that gets us to a better society.

5/?

The same is true for unions as well - often, unionization efforts are met with (illegal) pushback such as firing and worker intimidation. So such efforts often grow slowly and take time. But the end result is something far more durable, something that can withstand the vagaries of management changes and the stock market. Unions build *community* and solidarity, which is what makes them so powerful (and so feared by corporations).

6/?

Fundamentally, worker-owned co-ops and unionized workplaces have a different culture which prioritizes the worker (worker safety, job security, benefits, etc) over short-term profits. And the point is that that kind of culture is hard to build in a space where it doesn't already exist.

7/?

The reason I am saying all of this is that one of the arguments I hear against worker-owned co-ops is that there aren't really any big ones. But what if the goal *isn't* to be massive enough to compete with the Sprouts, Krogers, Whole Foods, etc of the world? What if there is a fundamentally different goal? And what if that's a *better* goal for the future of the planet and our societies?

8/?

I thought about all of this because it's clear that something like @coopartisans grows organically, through members reaching out to others (especially artisans). There's no VC behind it - it was funded by artisans and supporters, that's it. This means that the co-op only answers to artisan and supporting members. This model is *hard* to get off the ground and *hard* to grow.

9/?

It's one of the reasons I look initially at @coopartisans before looking elsewhere if it's the kind of thing I might find there - the more people buy from there, the more this business model becomes viable and the more artisans join the co-op (and there is already a huge breadth of items on there!).

10/?

It's easy to feel down given the state of everything. Amazon and Etsy have undergone enshittification, yet they still reign (especially Etsy) when it comes to where people look for handicrafts. But there *is* a better way.

If you fancy yourself an anticapitalist or an anarchist or a socialist or a marxist or a communist or any other flavor of leftist, *you should be joining Artisans Coop*, at the very least as a supporting member.

11/?

Obviously, it's different if you literally can't afford it. But all too often, the people making that argument aren't the ones who can't actually afford it (the people who can't will apologize saying money's really tight, which is totally understandable!).

Hate Amazon? Join Artisans Coop. Hate Etsy? Join Artisans Coop. Hate billionaires? Join Artisans Coop. Hate capitalism? Join Artisans Coop.

I really don't know how to make it any clearer.

12/12