The codetermination bargains: the history of German corporate and labour law

Why does codetermination exist in Germany? Law and economics theories have contended that if there were no legal compulsion, worker participation in corporate governance would be ‘virtually nonexistent’. This positive analysis, which flows from the ‘nexus of contracts’ conception of the corporation, supports a normative argument that codetermination is inefficient because it is supposed that it will seldom happen voluntarily. After discussing competing conceptions of the corporation, as a ‘thing in itself’, and as an ‘institution’, this article explores the development of German codetermination from the mid-19th century to the present. It finds the inefficiency argument sits at odds with the historical evidence. In its very inception, the right of workers to vote for a company board of directors, or in work councils with a voice in dismissals, came from collective agreements. It was not compelled by law, but was collectively bargained between business and labour representatives. These ‘codetermination bargains’ were widespread. Laws then codified these models. This was true at the foundation of the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1922 and, after abolition in 1933, again from 1945 to 1951. The foundational codetermination bargains were made because of two ‘Goldilocks’ conditions (conditions that were ‘just right’) which were not always seen in countries like the UK or US. First, inequality of bargaining power between workers and employers was temporarily less pronounced. Second, the trade union movement became united in the objective of seeking worker voice in corporate governance. As the practice of codetermination has been embraced by a majority of EU countries, and continues to spread, it is important to have an accurate positive narrative of codetermination’s economic and political foundations

Donald Trump is fascism-lite. We have the US Supreme Court to thank for it.

The 2016 election campaign and the seemingly authoritarian tendencies of President Donald Trump to have led many to raise the specter of the rise of an American form of fascism. Ewan McGaughey argues that Trump is what he terms, “fascism-lite”, and has made what has been generally implicit in Republican and Supreme Court politics up to now – high levels of corporate influence, and a general disdain for democracy and social justice – explicit

Ending shareholder monopoly: why workers’ votes promote good corporate governance

A consensus is emerging that votes at work promote good corporate governance, argues Ewan McGaughey. Here he outlines behavioural, qualitative and quantitative evidence, and explains that votes at work in Britain have among the longest, richest histories in the world

Pension strike: university staff are getting a 'die quickly' pension plan. It won't work.

What is at stake in the ongoing university strikes? To answer this question, Ewan McGaughey explains how the pension system works, who governs it, and their conflicts of interest. He argues that there is a need to rebuild the university and pension governance system so that it is more democratic and just. Otherwise the same issues will keep returning

COVID-19 and job security: how to prevent a ‘pandemic of unemployment’

Ewan McGaughey writes that job security, workplace democracy, and labour law are the best defence against the impending depression. Yet these are also areas in which the UK and US are lacking. He offers some suggestions on how to prevent mass unemployment resulting from the coronavirus lockdowns

The extent of Russian-backed fraud means the referendum is invalid

Four separate reports have fatally undermined the Brexit vote, argues Ewan McGaughey (King’s College London). They show how Russia used the Leave campaigns, official and unofficial, to sway the referendum. A case soon to be heard in the High Court will argue that the result should consequently be deemed void

Book review: Capital and ideology by Thomas Piketty

In Capital and Ideology, Thomas Piketty proposes a vision for a fairer economic system grounded in ‘participatory’ socialism. This encyclopaedic, rewarding work merits thoughtful engagement and is essential reading, writes Ewan McGaughey. Capital and Ideology. Thomas Piketty (translated by Arthur Goldhammer). Harvard University Press. 2020

Book review: Capital and ideology by Thomas Piketty

In Capital and Ideology, Thomas Piketty proposes a vision for a fairer economic system grounded in ‘participatory’ socialism. This encyclopaedic, rewarding work merits thoughtful engagement and is essential reading, writes Ewan McGaughey. Capital and Ideology. Thomas Piketty (translated by Arthur Goldhammer). Harvard University Press. 2020

There’s no ‘Left Brexit’ – the EU enhances our sovereignty in building a just society

Three main claims made by advocates of ‘Lexit’ – a ‘Left Brexit’ – are that the EU prevents the UK from ‘wholesale state intervention in the economy’, the EU is bad for workers’ rights, and that it cannot be reformed. All three claims are mistaken, argues Ewan McGaughey (King’s College London), because the EU supports any system of property ownership, it is constitutionally prevented from suppressing worker rights, and it is being continually reformed – far better than the international trade system