cryptoleft

I've been hearing some progressive liberals calling ESOPs "socialism" and not being super familiar with these vehicles I decided to a bit of reading. This led me to believe that this is a mischaracterization, especially with respect to one of the core tenets of socialism: workplace democracy.

So I decided to ask AI to compare them. Here are some screenshots. The question was the same every time:

"Can you explain the differences between ESOPs and worker's cooperatives? Please provide a lot of detail, list sources (with links), and conclude by arguing which is a better fit for workplace democracy"

Deepseek R1 70B, via Venice

writing stuff about decentralization • thumbsup.me

I can’t take anyone seriously who would call an ESOP « socialism ».  Especially how they function in practice.

Options aren’t stock.  They’re a non-taxable benefit that doesn’t give the employee any voting rights unless they spend tens or hundreds of thousands to exercise their options.  What’s more, the stock class itself isn’t event guaranteed to have voting rights.

Startup artist seeking inspiration.  Champion of /bcard

My takeaway too. So it’s important to shut this narrative down anytime we encounter it