If workers owned the means of production, it would have profound benefits in terms of practicality, economy and democracy

Ethics

• It is undemocratic that one person/very few people can have total control over major parts of the economy and wield such power.
• Most jobs are democracy-free zones - workers have no say in how the business should be run.
• If we are living in a truly democratic society, we should give power to the people who provide the labour day in day out.
• If the means are owned by the workers, there would be better working conditions, better wages, higher job satisfaction and higher job stability.
• Businesses that are owned and run by the workers are not profit-driven: their main priority is simply to provide their customers with the best service, and a non-exploitative social safety net for their workers.

Practicality

• Workplaces run and owned by the workers such as cooperatives are not only fairer, but more productive.
• Additionally, it does not make sense for a business to be controlled by people, usually wealthy investors, who have often never experienced what it is like to work in that environment. The workers often have more insight into how the industry works, how it should be run and what changes need to be made for safety and more efficient production etc.

Economy

• Cooperatives do not have to make risky moves to maximise their profit to please shareholders, meaning they historically have been able to survive during economic turmoil more so than profit-driven businesses.
• Cooperative businesses have lower failure rates than traditional corporations and small businesses.
• About 10% of cooperatives fail after the first year while 60-80% of traditional businesses fail after the first year.
• After 5 years, 90% of cooperatives are still in business, while only 3 - 5% of traditional businesses are still operating after 5 years.