We focus on democratic, egalitarian, and solidarity-based economic alternatives to the neoliberal/capitalist model, as well as the enterprises, organisations, and practices that emerge within this framework. We believe that the theoretical and practical knowledge on workers’ control and workers’ self-management is extremely rich and deserves greater visibility.
By workers’ control, we refer to workers’ initiatives over the labour and production process. In this sense, we approach both the concepts of “worker” and “control” in their broadest meanings. We value all forms of intervention by exploited, marginalised, and excluded groups against competitive, hierarchical, and alienating relations, as well as their attempts to build solidarity-based alternatives.
We adopt an inclusive perspective towards the diverse forms of workers’ control. From participation to full workers’ management, from cooperatives to social and solidarity economies, we consider these as different expressions of workers’ intervention in ownership and labour relations. These interventions are also understood as outcomes of collective struggle.
We see this struggle as a process that challenges neoliberal and capitalist relations, contributing to the construction of more equal and emancipatory social relations in the present. We underline the importance of approaching these dynamics—ranging from trade unions to cooperatives and from solidarity economy initiatives to self-management—with a comprehensive perspective.
We consider past experiences, with their strengths and limitations, as an important legacy. Self-management, understood as the struggle of direct producers to gain control over their work and lives, can be traced back throughout human history. Workers’ control and self-management have remained theoretically and practically relevant since the emergence of industrial capitalism.
Today, these debates are perhaps more relevant than ever. Particularly in Argentina and Latin America, numerous experiences and vibrant academic and non-academic discussions continue to develop within the framework of workers’ control and self-management.
This initiative aims to examine all forms of practices that intervene in existing economic and labour relations in the direction of more egalitarian and emancipatory alternatives. It seeks to explore past experiences while closely following contemporary developments and debates.
At the same time, this initiative may serve as a foundation for future institutional developments. In this sense, it can be considered a first step towards the establishment of a “Institute for Workers’ Control Studies.”