Jörg Preisendörfer<span class="h-card"><a href="https://mamot.fr/users/nemobis" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>nemobis</span></a></span> <strong>How to prevent sell-out of <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=assets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>assets</span></a> in a <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=ForProfit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ForProfit</span></a> <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=Cooperative" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cooperative</span></a> running <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=Fediverse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fediverse</span></a> instances</strong><br><br>Thx for your interest in the topic!<br><br>I guess the confusion has nothing to do with a ›german context‹, because the principles I am refering to are the same on a global scale (see the <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=GuidancesNotes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GuidancesNotes</span></a> to the <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=CooperativePrinciples" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CooperativePrinciples</span></a> I am <a href="https://www.ica.coop/en/media/library/research-and-reviews/guidance-notes-cooperative-principles" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">linking</a> to under letter –g–).<br><br>I rather presume that you are conceiving of the model of a <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=WorkerCooperative" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WorkerCooperative</span></a>, whereas I am conceiving of the model of a <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=PlatformCooperative" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PlatformCooperative</span></a> (see letter –b–).<br><br>Salary or wages are never part of any businesses' profit. <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=Bookkeeping" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Bookkeeping</span></a> theory counts them among the expenses of a business. By definition the surplus is what remains after substracting the expenses.<br><br>The posting you were replying to is all about the reasons why it is crucial for a platform cooperative to be for-profit, so it can distribute a <strong>fraction</strong> of it's surplus (never all of it) to its members to give them back on their engagement — and only <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=ForProfit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ForProfit</span></a> cooperatives can do this, while <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=NonProfit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NonProfit</span></a> cooperatives have to keep all of their <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=surplus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>surplus</span></a>.<br><br>This concept is exactly the same as conceiving of a <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=BasicIncomeGrant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BasicIncomeGrant</span></a> as a payment made for participation in a society's democratic processes.<br><br>Any non-profit organisation will always fall prey to <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=Classism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Classism</span></a> in short term, even with the best of all intentions.<br><br>Regarding the problem of sell-out of assets:<br><br>Sell-out of assets is not attractive when a cooperative delivers on the cooperative principles of:<br><br>2 — <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=DemocraticMemberControl" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DemocraticMemberControl</span></a><br>3 — <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=MemberEconomicParticipation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MemberEconomicParticipation</span></a><br>5 — <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=EducationTrainingAndInformation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EducationTrainingAndInformation</span></a><br>7 — <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=ConcernForCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ConcernForCommunity</span></a> <br><br>When a cooperative falls short of living up to these principle's, it will be more attractive to sell-out the assets which it is not forbidden to sell by law or its own statutes, and cease operation.<br><br>But the risk of sell-out of assets is even higher in other types of businesses and in a <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=foundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>foundation</span></a> or <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=endowment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>endowment</span></a> because there is less democratic control.<br><br>To lower the risk of sell-out of assets, the theory of cooperatives also knows the concept of an <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=IndivisbleReserve" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IndivisbleReserve</span></a> which never can be swept-out to the members of the cooperative (see the Guidance Notes mentioned above).<br><br>Also note that <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=commerce" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>commerce</span></a> and <a href="https://libranet.de/search?tag=capitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>capitalism</span></a> are not the same.