I'm sure I'm not the only person who has tried to think of alternatives to the business model when it comes to social life. The rampant privatization of everything (libraries, schools, probably the postal service eventually, etc) is leading us into a world that has no public spaces that people can freely organize and socialize within. This isn't news to anyone, just context.

So, people who try to counter the above and open a social hub (be it a storefront, a community market, an art venue...) always have tot deal with paying the expenses of operations - lest they get evicted. So, to a degree (given that the state currently and likely never will subsidize such efforts), the operators of these endeavors have to find a way to exist within the great market framework where all natural resources are leased out by the capitalist state. This is a hazard as it can corrupt organizations towards profit seeking / rent seeking. But, we've already accepted the premise that there are expenses of operations, so what is to be done?

Revenue of some sort is the necessary evil that must be dealt with. State subsidies can rarely be obtained and much less relied upon - so those are out. Donations are probably the current model that we're most used to seeing for socially beneficially projects - but as we can tell by how much "philanthropy" and charity has been weaponized by the capitalist class, individual donations are not much more dependable than state subsidies. Donations are much like corporate shareholders in terms of influence - when you're reliant on an influx of revenue from certain people, they begin to hold sway over how your organization will operate - in some cases this could be fine, in others it is a limit on the revolutionary potential of the project. Also, given the technological state of society, most mediums of donating in theory could be severed for political reasons by a competent state. So, not ideal.

I'm not an expert on non-profits but they seem to have their own problems - one of which is that their operational status is tightly controlled by the state. So, their revolutionary potential will always be stunted - given how long they've been operating in our society I think it is clear that they function similarly to alms from religious entities - they operate to obscure the brutality of the system by providing the minimum requirements for human survival - but they aren't allowed to give out much needed political literacy/education which would address things more fundamentally.

Not-for-profit institutions actually have more autonomy and independence from the state last I checked. There could be some potential with these types of organizations (probably a lot I'm unaware of already in operation) but once again the rules and their status could always come under scrutiny by the state. For this reason it is tempting to simply run projects as a standard business to maximize autonomy - assuming that whatever organization is contrived will have unfriendly relations with the state (but that could be avoidable in which case a not-for-profit would likely be superior).

That is all to say: What is the most revolutionary from of revenue for a social entity to operate? Can a payment system be constructed in such a way as to constitute a mode of social organization (e.g. a restaurant that mandates co-operative payment forms, a store that allows for a minor deficit "tab" similar to public libraries, transparent organizations which have profits redirected to struggling organizations to survive market conditions, etc.)

Maybe I've been reading too much Jacobin of late but I'm currently of the opinion that capitalism needs to be eroded by a socialist mode of production. I think dealing revenue is a necessary obstacle that can't be cleverly dodged and should instead by harnessed in a revolutionary way - similar to the idea of "voting with your wallet" except not in a way the glorifies the act of purchasing - more in a "union dues" type act of commitment to the political movement.

To get people to prefer to allocate their funds to community organization rather than capitalist projects the weak points of classical businesses need to be exploited: -Cheaper -Promote authentic human socializing -Low stress -Allow the patrons to exist as more than simple customers -Worker democracy present in some form -Based on community membership in some form (like libraries)

Basically there should be no pressure to buy services or commodities, but intense pressure to participate - funding the local organizations would be one of many methods of participating (could also take the form of reducing costs through volunteering if money is tight, and no one ever HAS to pay).

More ideas welcome, this is still an inchoate thought, just needed to write it down somewhere.