DisCOs: Dancing to a Different Rhythm – A Deep Dive into Distributed Cooperative Organizations

Imagine a workplace where the beat of collaboration, not the relentless grind of the corporate machine, sets the tempo. Where power is distributed, not concentrated, decisions are made by consensus, and profits are shared equitably. Where care for the collective and the planet are not afterthoughts, but core values.

This is not some utopian fantasy. It’s the emerging reality of DisCOs – Distributed Cooperative Organizations – a new species of organization that’s re-coding the future of work.

Anatomy of a DisCO: Unpacking the Core

DisCOs are not just a new type of business structure. They’re a new way of thinking about organizing, a synthesis of ideas drawn from the commons movement, open cooperativism, feminist economics, and peer-to-peer production. DisCOs are like a musical jam session, where diverse instruments come together to create a unique sound.

Here’s a breakdown of the key elements:

• Values over Valuation: DisCOs prioritize social and environmental goals over profit maximization. They are driven by a sense of purpose, not just by the bottom line. Think of Cooperation Jackson’s dedication to building a solidarity economy in Jackson, Mississippi.
• Multi-Constituent Governance: DisCOs extend decision-making power to all stakeholders, not just to shareholders. This includes workers, users, community members, and even the environment. Think of the multi-stakeholder governance model pioneered by Enspiral in New Zealand.
• Commons-Creating: DisCOs actively create and steward commons, both digital and physical, recognizing that shared resources are essential for a just and sustainable future. Think of Guerrilla Media Collective’s commitment to building an open-source knowledge commons.
• Translocal and Transnational: DisCOs are rooted in local communities, but they are also connected to global networks, sharing knowledge, resources, and solidarity across borders. Think of the transnational collaboration fostered by the DisCO.coop network.
• Care at the Core: DisCOs recognize the essential role of care work and build systems to support it, valuing and rewarding activities that are often overlooked in the market economy. Think of how Laneras, a DisCO focused on sustainable textile production in Spain, integrates care for the environment and community into its practices.

Beyond the Blockchain: Technology in Service to Humanity

DisCOs are tech-savvy. They leverage the power of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) to create transparency, facilitate secure transactions, and enable distributed decision-making. But they also recognize the limits of technology and avoid the pitfalls of techno-solutionism.

DisCOs see technology as a tool to serve human needs, not as an end in itself. They are wary of the deterministic logic that often accompanies technological innovation, recognizing that social and political change requires more than just technical fixes. Think of how the FairCoin project, a cryptocurrency designed to support cooperative businesses, avoids the speculative frenzy of the mainstream crypto-market.

The Algorithmic Heart: The Community Algorithmic Trust (CAT)

At the heart of many DisCOs lies the Community Algorithmic Trust (CAT) – a digital platform that embodies the values and principles of the organization. It’s a hybrid of human and machine intelligence, a system designed to promote transparency, accountability, and democratic governance.

The CAT tracks the flow of value within the DisCO, recognizing and rewarding different types of contributions, including paid work, commons-creating work, and care work. It also facilitates democratic decision-making through voting mechanisms, proposal systems, and feedback loops. Think of how the DisCO Deck, a platform in development by DisCO.coop, aims to visualize and manage value flows in a way that is both transparent and accessible to all members.

The emergence of DisCOs signifies a shift in consciousness: a recognition that the old models of organizing are no longer adequate, and that a new world based on cooperation, solidarity, and ecological sustainability is possible. They are a reminder that the future of work is not predetermined, but rather a collective project that we can shape.

Join the DisCO revolution and dance to a different rhythm!