Carl Davidson- Mondragon, Solidarity and End of Capitalism

This is the 3rd interview in our ShiftShapers series about the New Economy.

Anyone who says single-payer medical care or the Social Security system are examples of socialism, "doesn't know what they're talking about," asserts Carl Davidson.

The real thing happens when workers take ownership of their jobs and the companies where they work.

Mr. Davidson has some credibility in the area of socialist thinking. He started the Online University of the Left , a curriculum-rich resource for the study of socialism and the ideas of Karl Marx. During the 60's, while attending an ivy-covered university, he was a co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

We can see examples of worker ownership in the Arizmendi Bakeries in California (listen to our ShiftShapers interview with Alvarado Street Bakery); the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, OH; and the grand-daddy of them all, Mondragon Spain  - an entire region, with over 100 co-ops employing more than 100,000 worker-owners.

In this 34-minute interview with co-host Daniel Kerbein, Mr. Davidson points out that while hundreds more Mondragons would be a huge benefit to the workers involved, true socialism is the liberation of the working class and the achievement of a classless society.

Meanwhile, the existing co-ops are a school for their workers: If we can run our factory, why not our town? If we can run our town, how about our whole country?