In Spain, an industrial-sized conglomerate owned by its workers suggests an alternative future for capitalism.
Managing and resisting ‘degeneration’ in employee-owned businesses: A comparative study of two large retailers in Spain and the United Kingdom
Employee-owned businesses have recently enjoyed a resurgence of interest as possible ‘alternatives’ to the somewhat tarnished image of conventional investor-owned capitalist firms. Within the context of global economic crisis, such alternatives seem newly attractive. This is somewhat ironic because, for more than a century, academic literature on employee-owned businesses has been dominated by the ‘degeneration thesis’. This suggested that these businesses tend towards failure—they either fail commercially, or they relinquish their democratic characters. Bucking this trend and offering a beacon—especially in the United Kingdom —has been the commercially successful, co-owned enterprise of the John Lewis Partnership whose virtues have seemingly been rewarded with favourable and sustainable outcomes. This article makes comparisons between John Lewis Partnership and its Spanish equivalent Eroski—the supermarket group which is part of the Mondragon cooperatives. The contribution of this article is to examine in a comparative way how the managers in John Lewis Partnership and Eroski have constructed and accomplished their alternative scenarios. Using longitudinal data and detailed interviews with senior managers in both enterprises, it explores the ways in which two large, employee-owned, enterprises reconcile apparently conflicting principles and objectives. The article thus puts some new flesh on the ‘regeneration thesis’.
The Myth of Capitalism Exposed
We need a revolution to cast off monopolies and restore entrepreneurial freedom. First of two excerpts from “The Myth of Capitalism.”
After Capitalism: A Cooperative Economy (Documentary)
Capitalism and Its Critics: A History
A Financial Times Most Anticipated Book of 2025A sweeping, dramatic history of capitalism as seen through the eyes of its fiercest critics. At a time when artificial intelligence, climate change, and inequality are raising fundamental questions about the economic system, Capitalism and Its Critics provides a kaleidoscopic history of global capitalism, from the East India Company and Industrial Revolution to the di...
New Latin American Perspectives on the History of Neoliberalism — History & Political Economy Project
A roundtable discussion with César Castillo-García, Matilde Ciolli, and José Antonio Galindo Domínguez
Denizen
What is out there, now, that represents a market-based economy beyond capitalism? Post Growth Institute Founder Donnie Maclurcan shares his views on what's working around the world today and his theory of change towards the next economy.
Le nouveau capitalisme (1/3)
Traduction de "New capitalism in America. Richest capitalists and richest workers are increasingly the same people" de Branko Milanovic
Opinion | The Monopolization of America (Published 2018)
In one industry after another, big companies have become more dominant over the past 15 years, new data show.
Opinion | Be Afraid of Economic ‘Bigness.’ Be Very Afraid. (Published 2018)
In the 1930s it contributed to the rise of fascism. Alarmingly, we are experimenting again with a monopolized economy.
Start.coop | Empower Cooperative Growth
Discover resources and support to build and grow cooperatively-owned businesses, fostering community wealth-building and economic stability.
Carlos E. Perez on Twitter / X
What exactly drives the late-stage capitalist US economy?https://t.co/ERU764NoC4— Carlos E. Perez (@IntuitMachine) May 28, 2026
Le nouveau capitalisme (2/3) : inégalités compositionnelles versus inégalités de revenu
Traduction de "New capitalism II: Compositional vs income inequality. Are all class-based societies unequal?" de Branko Milanovic
Le grand basculement capitaliste
À propos de : Jérôme Baschet, Quand commence le capitalisme ? De la société féodale au monde de l'économie, Crise et critique
