i've always wondered why someone hasn't started a non-profit business to start selling goods and services, in which they should be able to out-compete the for-profit enterprises, since they can sell at cost just to break even, or sell at less of a markup.

you could get one going, then use what would be the "profits" (since you can't keep them) as seed funding a second similar non-profit in a different industry, then a third, by then the 2nd one could seed fund a fourth, and so on and so on until eventually, you would have expanded into every industry. and over time, since you can always out-compete the capitalist, you would have monopolized every industry with non-profit enterprises.

depending on how you structured it, you could stipulate some kind of collective social ownership, or each industry could be run as a non-profit worker cooperative with workplace democracy.

i am sure there are a thousand little reasons why this might fail, but i don't see any big gotcha? it seems like a sound idea. i guess maybe the capitalists would be willing to run at a loss to try and stop you, but that's still a good outcome? maybe try to make it illegal? i am not sure how you could make it illegal to sell good and services at break-even prices. price controls, ok fine, we will just have more money for seed funding.

i guess TLDR the ability to run a not-for-profit business seems like a pretty big weakness for capitalism.

    • joshieecs [he/him,any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Nothing would prevent it. But a non-profit could also use the same kind of tactic. Perhaps not the first such enterprise to be founded, but if you built up a business in a market segment that would be hard to undercut (I guess not welding!), once you had a big enough war chest, then you could use the same kind of tactic to try and put the capitalists out of business.

      I also think you would have a special appeal to a certain percentage of left-wing workers who would be willing to work for less money to support the business model, especially if you have workplace democracy. Not enough to monopolize every industry, but perhaps enough to gain your footing and start accumulating a war chest. I don't know how much welders make but I would consider accepting 15-20% less money to work for a non-profit worker cooperative, wouldn't you?