hey chapos. i have a few plans for what my future could be. long story short if I can't get into a university in china i will open a restaurant here in amerikkka to get by and do something i enjoy (cooking). how would i achieve this without becoming the petty bourgeoisie, or at least if i have to be the petty bourgeoisie how could i betray may class and further communist goals in amerikkka? any advice would be appreciated.

  • Maoo [none/use name]
    ·
    1 year ago

    There is no ethical production under capitalism. What you can do is try to limit the harms of capitalism in your working life (while fighting for revolution the rest of the time). Just want to point this out because you'll never be able to make business under capitalism ethical in itself and it's very un-fun to have an unrealizable goal.

    Anyways, all attempts to be less capitalist under capitalism have bourgeois elements, as you noted. You're basically ensuring that the people who do the work also have ownership and control, as that's the most you can do at the scale of one business. Every member of a worker co-op, under capitalism, has bourgeois elements. You're all owners, and the moment there is any difference in ownership and pay you've got exploitation knocking at your door. Also, at the end of the day, you've gotta get capital somewhere and so even worker co-ops are usually actually owned by a bank - they're running on business loans.

    With all of that said, it's still a better way to work and for the people who work there to live. It's similarly good to having a union.

    I would suggest you look into worker-owned co-ops, ask people who have them locally, get a sense for how you get capital and build a coherent business plan. You'll probably want to start solo and expect that this will be a learning experience. The idea of a food truck is a good one. You can also experiment with having a stall at events like a farmer's market. The most important part of running a restaurant is actually making good food that you can sell to make a profit. Are you ready for the speed and budget of a commercial kitchen? Do you have any killer recipes? Have you checked with other people to make sure they like them?

    I'm basically describing all the steps of making a typical capitalist business (e.g. market research) because it's inescapable even for worker owned co-ops. Behold, the bourgeois nature of organizing production under capitalism.