Robinsonian Cooperative
Corporations
Definitions:
A corporation is a social construct that assumes
some of the rights, privilages and liabilities that are otherwise
normally associated with individuals. For example, a corporation can
own property, sell goods and services and assume the responsibility for
paying governments sales and property taxes.
A cooperative corporation has a written charter that
specifies a formula by which the wealth or other benefits of the
corporation are to be shared by the members of the corporation in a
proportionate way according to the labor or other investments given to
the corporation by the members. None of the members of a cooperative
corporation has more than one vote in the conduct of the affairs of the
corporation. (Canadian Definition)
Kim
Stanley Robinson's Mars
Trilogy
"One. Martian society will be composed of many different cultures. It
is better to think of it as a world rather than a nation. Freedom of
religion and cultural practice must be guaranteed. No one culture or
group of cultures should be able to dominate the rest.
Two. Within this framework of diversity, it still must be guaranteed
that all individuals on Mars have certain inalienable rights, including
the material basics of existence, health care, education, and legal
equality.
Three. The land, air, and water of Mars are in the common stewardship
of the human family, and cannot be owned by any individual or group.
Four. The fruits of an individual's labor belong to the individual, and
cannot be appropriated by another individual or group. At the same
time, human labor on Mars is part of a communal enterprise, given to
the common good. The Martian economic system must reflect both these
facts, balancing the self-interest with the interests of society at
large.
Five. The metanational order ruling Earth is currently incapable of
incorporating the previous two principles, and cannot be applied here.
In its place we must enact an economics based on ecologic science. The
goal of Martian economics is not 'sustainable development' but a
sustainable prosperity for its entire biosphere.
Six. The Martian landscape itself has certain 'rights of place' which
must be honored. The goal of our environmental alterations should
therefore be minimalist and ecopoetic, reflecting the values of the
areophany. It is suggested that the goal of environmental alterations
be to make only that portion of Mars lower than the four-kilometer
contour human-viable. Higher elevations, constituting some thirty
percent of the planet, would then remain in something resembling their
primeval conditions, existing as natural wilderness zones.
Seven. The habitation of Mars is a unique historical process, as it is
the first inhabitation of another planet by humanity. As such it should
be undertaken in a spirit of reverence for this planet and for the
scarcity of life in the universe. What we do here will set precedents
for further human habitation of the solar system, and will suggest
models for the human relationship to Earth's environment as well. Thus
Mars occupies a special place in history, and this should be remembered
when we make the necessary decisions concerning life here."
Key elements (source) of a
Robinsonian Cooperative Corporation:
Corporation Goal and Definition (Cory Horner Nov 30, 2003)
a. An RCC defines itself with a gainful activity that has the objective
to produce value for its members through internal exchange of services
or products, and sale to the outside. The objective is detailed,
including all goals and purposes.
b. An RCC involves itself in one or more of the following: development,
production, distribution, construction, education, organization.
c. RCC's distribute wealth based on labour and membership.
d. An RCC decides on a set of doctrines, which are principles/beliefs
which an RCC will take into consideration in all operations. All groups
that interact with the RCC will need to abide by its Doctrines in order
to be partners with that RCC.
e. Each RCC is a unique and dynamic entity which defines its own rules
of operation. Restrictions and membership levels are decided on a
case-by-case basis.
Doctrines (Cory Horner)
a. Copyleft - knowledge belongs to humanity.
b. Litigation avoidance - frequent interaction with the courts is
wasteful.
Policies (Cory Horner)
a. Doctrines are not enforceable. The sanctions against non-compliance
wouldsimply be avoidance of commercial interaction. Both groups and
individuals may black-listed for a violation.
b. RCCs are self-governed. Members may choose a leader to run
operations.
c. Transparency, Activities are transparent. Everyone has access to
information regarding each transaction or trade.
"with regard to RCCs, there is no way around them having to be totally
transparent. Otherwise they simply won't work. RCCs aren't possible
without log-on access to each account and easy trading over the web. So
maybe RCCs simply haven't been possible up to now. RCC's the "new" way
of doing business" -Ueli Scheuermeier
Membership in an RCC
Membership is stacked:
a) Individuals are members of one or several primary RCCs. Primary RCCs
only have individuals as members. For psychological and societal
reasons primary RCCs may split once they reach 120 members.
b) Primary RCCs can combine together to form secondary RCCs. Secondary
RCCs do not have any individuals as members. An RCC should never have a
mixed membership of RCC and individuals. It's either individual in
primary or RCC in secondary. Again, a primary RCC can be in one or
several secondary RCCs - or in none at all.
c) Secondary RCCs can also combine into meta-RCCs that take care of
providing services to all.
Members are always active in the business of the RCC. There is no
absentee membership. Either you take part in the activities for
achieving the goals of the RCC, or you're not a voting member.
RCCs can be entirely virtual, without physical presence. Space will be
awash in tele-social operations, since phsyical presence will often be
a bugger to achieve.
Secondary RCCs might also evolve out of various service-RCCs (sRCC)
into a type of government: A large enough community decides that they
all need the skills of these servicing RCCs and thereby decide to buy
those services on behalf of the community ("res publica"=the things
that everybody has a stake in = "republic"). The community would then
incorporate the gRCC as a meta-RCC of the sRCCs. This would lead to a
subsidiaric brand of government as opposed to an
authoritarian-representative brand.
Joining a RCC
Acceptance of the objectives, definition and doctrines of the RCC is a
requirement.
Once some of the existing members of the RCC have traded some of
their skills with what you have to offer, you're in. Possible grace
period before a new member is fully accepted.
Quitting a RCC
Two options are available:
a) Keep your hours, and receive a decreasing percentage of RCC profits
over time.
b) Trade/sell your hours with an individual or RCC in exchange for
ownership or money.
Member Benefits
Profits are used however the membership of the RCC decides.
If profits are to be split among members, it is done based on the
distribution of validated hours.
Additional Issues:
Validating hours
- hours are traded on a 1:1 basis
- all participating membership (those with recently traded hours) may
veto any hour validation
- individuals who trade hours should review each others work to insure
that it has value
- unvalidated hours have no value
Invested capital
- groups and individuals can invest currency or other resources in an
RCC in exchange for a fixed number of validated hours.
- investors do not remain active in the RCC for very long because they
do not exchange hours on a regular basis
- the % of ownership an investor has will steadily decrease as members
of the RCC continue to work. This results in receiving a descreasing %
of the profits.
Transferring ownership
- validated hours can be traded like shares in a company
- obtaining validated hours does not entitle the obtainee to control of
the RCC -- only members who actively trade hours have an influence.