John

Yep, good point! I was trying to think of examples. Ace Hardware isn’t a workers coop either.

the FBI would make sure they fail.

This is kind of the point. If any of these things remotely threatened the capitalist status quo, they would be obliterated by the CIA, etc.

I think you already read the reason/s but in a monopoly capitalist society, but companies can just smother smaller ones by leveraging their exploited workforce (more output for less cost), out-competing, buying up all competition, much better economies of scale, and access to capital and market forces.

Just take an example of a small business owner who sells sporting goods (I use this example because I love Freak and Geeks lol). How can you possibly compete with Walmart when Walmart has bigger and better inventory, cheaper prices, more locations, basically no competitors, better advertising, etc? Sure lots of people value ‘small businesses’ from a moral/ethical point of view, but enough for this company to grow and grow and grow and compete with friggin Walmart? That just doesn’t happen often.

Now, something like REI, which is a coop, does compete with Walmart in a very niche market. REI has a strong brand and loyal customer base, allowing it to compete effectively in the outdoor and sporting goods sector. However, its focus is more on quality and specialized products rather than mass-market items. Do you think Walmart couldn’t just destroy REI if it felt like it was being threatened and it wasn’t one of the largest mcap companies on the planet?

Because they cannot compete with the economies of scale, the availability of capital, market power, an exploitable workforce, etc.

It’s like asking why you can’t win at checkers when your opponent is cheating at 4d chess.

Read: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Lenin

Do find it interesting that every anti-capitalist society was achieved through revolution? Not by voting or incremental changes, but by ugly, violent, revolution?

By all means go and create some coops! I became a member of a local food coop. But I am under no delusion that this impacts capitalism whatsoever.

Capitalists aren’t going to just let the system slowly change. The mass murder campaigns waged by the CIA have taught us that (read The Jakarta Method).

Employee owned businesses are the realization of communism within a capitalist society.

Right, but we want the whole system changed. Coops are inherently at a disadvantage in monopoly capitalism.