Thom Hartmann, of Berrett-Koehler Publishers asks:” is the economy here to serve workers, or are workers here to serve those who own the economy?[Here in the USA] The answer of old-fashioned capitalism …. is that workers are here to serve the economy and its owners.” How distressing! Are there no better answers? Yes, there are and one comes from an unusual site.
Any of you who listen to foreign news, know that the Basque are a thorn sticking in the top of Spain with frequent acts of violence in their desire for freedom, yet it is out of them that a true cooperative, the Mondragon Corporation, appeared in 1956 which has evolved into a federation of worker cooperatives involving “85,066 people working in 256 companies in four areas of activity: Finance, Industry, Retail and Knowledge. The MONDRAGON Co-operatives operate in accordance with a business model based on People and the Sovereignty of Labour, which has made it possible to develop highly participative companies rooted in solidarity, with a strong social dimension but without neglecting business excellence. The Co-operatives are owned by their worker-members and power is based on the principle of one person, one vote.(from Wikipedia).
I am sure that the steady employment and the involvement of the workers in the control of their companies, in this the seventh largest Spanish company, will contribute greatly to the stability of the Basque section of Spain and Spain will become a better democracy. Can someone follow their lead here in the States? Turn to Google and see what the US Steelworkers are planing–You have to read that!! and I did, great effort!!

Thank you very much for publishing this comment.