Foreign Affairs. January-February 2020

The Neoliberal Collapse

January/February 2020 41

profits, in the form of equity, into a trust

that is owned by workers collectively.

Through the trust, workers would

receive shares in the company, just like

any shareholder. Those shares would

come with voting rights, enabling

employees to become the dominant

shareholders in every enterprise over

time, with the power to shape the

direction of the businesses where they

work. In the United Kingdom, a grow-

ing number of companies, including the

department store chain John Lewis, the

home-entertainment retailer Richer

working time, with a move to an average

four-day workweek, which governments

can achieve by increasing statutory

holidays. At the same time, the power of

workers to protect their interests should

be strengthened by requiring all compa-

nies to automatically recognize labor

unions and by giving workers stronger

legal rights to organize, bargain collec-

tively, and strike. Workers must also

gain greater ownership of the organiza-

tions that employ them. Governments

ought to mandate employee ownership

funds, which transfer a share of a firm’s

SEAN

SMITH

/ EYEVINE

/ REDUX

Enter stage left: the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in London, October 2019