Private Government Summary

"If you don’t like your job, you can just quit!" But what if this freedom is no freedom at all in practice?

1. Modern Workplaces Mirror Authoritarian Governments

Modern workplaces operate much like authoritarian governments. A CEO stands as the dictator, managers as their enforcers, and employees as the subjects. These structures create a rigid hierarchy where decisions and orders flow from the top down, leaving workers with little voice or power.

The power structure goes beyond hierarchy. Employers own the "means of production," deciding what to produce and how. Workers have minimal influence over these decisions, mirroring communist-centralized planning. Yet, unlike state governments, workplace "laws" are not subject to public scrutiny or democratic processes.

Surveillance and disciplinary measures also reflect authoritarian systems. Companies can monitor emails, inspect personal items, and enforce invasive policies. Employees who resist face severe repercussions—losing their livelihood through termination, akin to being exiled in an autocratic regime.

Examples

• CEOs make decisions without worker input.
• Many firms monitor employee communication, even outside work hours.
• Poultry workers in Tyson plants are reportedly denied bathroom breaks.

2. Employers Have Immense Power Over Employee Lives

Contrary to the romanticized vision of employer-employee agreements as mutual and equal, companies operate with vast legal powers over workers. This hierarchy grants administrators control over both professional and personal dimensions of their employees' lives.

For instance, most U.S. employees work under "at-will" contracts, meaning they can be fired for almost any reason, including actions outside work. Employers can examine personal health data, dictate lifestyle choices through wellness programs, and even pressure employees to support political campaigns.

Being let go is not the only fear. Many workers endure exploitative environments due to dependency on continued income and benefits. This dependency forces compliance even when policies override personal liberties.

Examples

• A company in the U.S. can fire employees over controversial social media posts.
• Employers may increase health insurance premiums for employees who skip wellness programs.
• Walmart has allegedly prevented employees from talking on the job, labeling casual chats as "time theft."

3. The Right to Quit Is a False Freedom

While people technically have the option to leave a bad job, the reality of quitting is fraught with challenges. Leaving employment often jeopardizes income stability, benefits, and even immigration status for some.

Start-up capital and self-employment opportunities are rare for most, especially in economically depressed regions or for marginalized groups. Non-compete clauses further paralyze mobility, limiting workers from seeking competitive jobs within their field of expertise—a practice affecting both high-tech professionals and lower-paid occupations.

Even if quitting feels possible, shifting from one job to another often means moving to yet another authoritarian workplace. This situation erases the notion of freedom entirely, as workers merely navigate between systems with little real change.

Examples

• Non-compete clauses prevent software engineers from joining rival firms.
• Summer camp counselors encounter similar restrictions.
• Losing employer-sponsored benefits and being ineligible for unemployment in the U.S. deters voluntary resignation.

4. Employers' Legal Rights Are Often Overlooked

The public perception of workplace freedom clashes with the broad legal latitude employers have. Companies can wield forceful authority without exercising it fully, making their power invisible to many.

For instance, while not every employer intervenes in political choices, many have the legal right to do so. Similarly, the rights to fire employees for their hobbies, lifestyle, or even their eating habits remain mostly dormant but legally protected.

The disparity stems partly from the vantage point of privilege. Top-earners do not often face overreach, leaving them unaware of the strict controls endured by low-wage workers. Ignorance about these conditions keeps the issue from garnering much-needed scrutiny.

Examples

• 7 million workers in the U.S. have been reportedly pushed to back employer-preferred political candidates.
• Tyson’s forced diaper use is unknown to most white-collar professionals.
• Laws allowing termination for unapproved behaviors remain intact but seldom applied.

5. The Nature of Workplace Government is the Problem

Workplaces undeniably need governing structures for efficiency and coordination, but issues arise when workers are excluded from that governance. Claimed as "private," workplace governments impose rules without employee participation.

Unlike democratic governments, employers are neither elected nor accountable to their workforce. Decisions become unilateral decrees, reducing transparency and creating concentrated power. Employees have little recourse to contest policies even when they feel unjustly treated.

Meanwhile, modern terminology obfuscates these dynamics, perpetuating the misconception that workplaces are non-governmental spheres, when in fact, they are systems of rule akin to political governance.

Examples

• Employees lack voting rights in board appointments.
• Internal grievance mechanisms are often ineffective for challenging managerial abuse.
• Historical terms like “corporate governance” reflect overlooked power in workplaces.

6. Private Governance Creates Systemic Inequities

Private governments, as Anderson describes them, thrive on exclusion. Decision-making authority rests solely with top-level executives and managers; workers are completely shut out from these processes.

This framework denies employees the transparency and voice granted through public systems. Without inclusion mechanisms, decisions can prioritize profits over worker welfare. Employees lack the ability to hold leaders accountable for policies that harm them.

Though private governance is framed as a matter of property ownership, this reasoning ignores that workers' lives and contributions are bound up in these enterprises. Sharing decision-making power, as in democratic systems, could restore balance.

Examples

• German "codetermination" policies offer a contrasting model.
• U.S. cooperatives empower employees as co-owners.
• Traditional corporations often overlook the impact of governance decisions on laborers.

7. Workplace Democracy Can Address These Issues

Democratizing workplaces would help bridge the current power gap. This means giving workers a clear voice, either through unionization or inclusion in corporate governance.

Unions act as bargaining intermediaries, enabling workers to collectively negotiate issues like wages, benefits, and operational policies. Alternatively, more radical shifts involve adopting co-management or cooperative ownership structures, where employees play an active and equal role in company decisions.

Both approaches acknowledge the value and rights of workers as integral stakeholders. Such changes might curb exploitative practices while fostering accountability and inclusivity across the board.

Examples

• Unionized workers in the public sector often enjoy greater benefits and protections.
• Codetermination in Germany matches workers' voices with management.
• Warby Parker experimented with co-determination practices to foster collaboration.

8. A Romanticized Idea of the Market Lingers

Economics textbooks often depict the labor market as a free, fair exchange between equals. This theoretical representation obscures the harsh realities of today's employment systems, perpetuating myths of voluntary participation and mutual benefit.

This liberal notion of the market arose in the 17th and 18th centuries when independent artisans and merchants dominated economies. At that time, excessive hierarchical oppression from kings, landlords, and guilds made markets seem liberating by comparison.

However, modern corporate structures have flipped this equation. Rather than maintaining equality, today’s markets actively entrench extreme power imbalances and dependence.

Examples

• Enlightenment thinkers like Locke and Paine supported free-market ideals.
• Small proprietors thrived under early capitalist frameworks.
• The Industrial Revolution replaced artisans with factory workers.

9. The Industrial Revolution Changed Everything

The 19th-century shift to large-scale manufacturing disrupted the idyllic picture of labor markets. Factories required substantial capital, making self-employment unreachable for most and forcing workers into wage dependency.

Instead of generating an abundance of equal exchanges, industrial capitalism entrenched power disparities. Companies grew into dictatorial entities where workers obey managerial oversight or lost access to resources.

This historical disruption challenges the myth of capitalism as inherently liberating, demanding new frameworks to address the unintended consequences of industrialization.

Examples

• Early butchers and bakers could operate independently without high start-up costs.
• The introduction of assembly lines minimized skills needed for production jobs.
• Economic changes heralded the rise of monopolistic corporate control.

Takeaways

1. Advocate for workplace democracy through unionization or codetermination models.
2. Educate yourself on the power dynamics of private workplace governments and spread awareness.
3. Challenge non-compete clauses or exploitative workplace practices in public forums and through legal avenues.