How Necessary Are Unions? Insights from John R. Commons

Abstract:

In this article, I assess Commons’s warning that union suppression endangers democracy. I do so by considering evidence from four viewpoints: (i) Commons’s view, (ii) the free market view, (iii) the power resource view, and (iv) the comparative sociology view. I expand on Commons’s insights with the question: What is democracy? My conclusion points to the reasonableness of his warning.

Keywords::

• democracy
• John R. Commons
• power
• public choice
• unions

JEL Classification Codes::

• B32
• D74
• J58
• P16

Notes

¹ Chris Tilly (2013) briefly reviewed the literature, including studies that supported the free market view, in the context of the United States and Mexico.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

J. Dennis Chasse

J. Dennis Chasse is an emeritus professor of economics at SUNY Brockport.