Originally Posted by Lab Rat

Points well taken.


yes, on the one hand they are socialist in the sense that you, for lack of a better phrase, sign your rights away when you join one. They set the rules and you need to follow them regardless of how you may feel about it - good, bad, or indifferent.


No, they are socialist because they are "collectives".



However, labor unions do operate under the laws of capitalism as well. Internally, their revenue must exceed their expenses in order to survive. They do have the advantage of raising dues in order to raise revenue, which is to say the price of belonging to the union. But, if the dues are raised too much and enough people refuse to pay them then either the union dissolves or is replaced by another one.

When it comes time to negotiate it is done under the laws of capitalism. Both sides come to the table and give-and-take until both sides come up with something they can live with. The company wants to preserve their bottom line as much as feasible, and the union wants to gain as much money, benefits, and quality of life for it's members. Both are driven by greed to some extent and neither are exempt.



Did you mean to say crony capitalism? I would agree that crony-capitalism is alive and well today, and I would also say that I don't believe crony-capitalism is true capitalism at all.