The Tyranny of the Institutional Investor
The modern investment landscape is dominated by a troubling reality — a staggering 89% of all equities and stocks are owned by institutional investors and the ultra-wealthy elite. This concentration of financial power in the hands of a privileged few poses a grave threat to the principles of a fair and democratic market.
there is no need for pension funds. retired people can be paid a fixed income by the Government adjusted for inflation (they used to do that in many countries before 2000s). in fact, the 'pension funds must invest in stock market' is a very neoliberal thing, its a way in which capitalists can use worker savings to get rich.
there is nothing productive about moving money around. the government can any time mobilize workers and resources needed without the need of stocks or bonds. stocks/bonds are supposed to be a way to funnel private sector wealth to most 'productive' uses. of course, under capitalism it ends up being a casino.
I could see a scenario where the “stocks” exist purely as a way to divvy up shareholder votes but without a financialized aspect. Of course, shareholders in this case would mean the mix of workers of the firm/institution/corpoation/whatever you want to call it, federal democratic will, local democratic will, particularly affected groups, environmental advocates, etc., not bourgeois investors. Those shareholders then select the equivalent of board members who select the equivalent of a chief executive officer (although in a socialist society I would think the title would be something more like “chief organizational director”, idk semantics aren’t the point). That way there’s public control over the means of production but not in a direct bureaucratic control way like you get with existent government agencies.
cooperatives yea. in that case, stocks are reduced to shared ownership certificates (only valid as long the person works in the co-op)