I'm with Richard on this. One inescapable lesson of my lifetime's work in social enterprise - especially designing organisational structures - is that no single form of organisation is good for all purposes, all people, so a 'mixed economy' is precisely what we need to aim for.
Moreover, it's a relatively short step to a healthy mix. All existing economies are, as far as I know, already mixed - all have publicly-owned, privately-owned, co-operative, voluntary, etc, elements. In my country, France, over half the economy is in the public sector, and more than a further 10% in other forms of common ownership (co-ops, etc) - and much of the remaining less-than-a third in the private sector is small business that is not, in the main, capitalist (see https://climatejustice.social/@GeofCox/113400545321265812). Some other countries, eg. Norway, have even more public and common-ownership elements. Building on these very big anti-capitalist social structures, and especially on the real organisational management skills the people in them have developed, is the sensible way forward - and should be relatively easy.
The barrier is big business, it's inherent profit-extraction and growth-orientation (because it is 'investor-led'), and the political power its wealth accumulation allows. Pointing this out, and at the same time pointing to the advantages of a better-mixed economy, I think represents the best strategy for the left.
@[email protected] You might be interested in my post from a few days ago, arguing that most small businesses are not, in fact 'capitalist': Small business existed before capitalism - family farms, artisans, musicians, traders - and still exists in pretty much the same forms. Most own their own 'means of production' - some tools, etc - but they mostly don't employ wage labourers (in the UK, about 75% of all businesses have no employees). Those that do are often employing assistants they are training up - again just like pre-capitalist businesses. What they do in the main is provide useful products and services, embedded in local or online communities that value them. I worked in business development for many years - a world in which practitioners distinguish between 'growth' and 'lifestyle' businesses - the latter regarded as a waste of time among consultants whose targets are around growth, job creation, etc - but here's the thing: 'growth businesses' are very hard to find. They're rare. The vast majority of small business people just want to make a living doing something they love and are (hopefully) good at. They have zero interest in growing, accumulating capital, supervising a lot of staff, etc...
Jacky
Richard Murphy
Simon Brooke
GeofCox