Politicized Cooperative Federations Can Counter Big Tech's Concentrated Power
Source: Stefano Tortorici. "Socialist Co-Ops Against Silicon Valley Empires." February 11, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
Big Tech companies have become so powerful that they control the basic digital infrastructure our society depends on, making even governments dependent on them. The author argues that worker-owned cooperatives, if they adopt clear socialist politics and team up with unions and activist groups, can build enough economic power to challenge this corporate control.
Conclusion
Cooperatives, when explicitly politicized with socialist mandates and federated with unions and social movements, can serve as effective counterpower to Big Tech's concentrated control over digital infrastructure and AI systems
Premises
- Big Tech corporations now control essential digital infrastructure at unprecedented scale, with two-thirds of global cloud infrastructure owned by just three US corporations
- Democratic institutions and governments are increasingly dependent on private tech systems they cannot control or audit, creating dangerous vulnerabilities
- Traditional state-centered approaches to regulation are inadequate because governments themselves are captive to the firms they seek to regulate
- Cooperatives already operate at systemic scale globally, with over one billion member-owners and trillions in annual turnover, proving democratic ownership can function at scale
- Historical examples show cooperatives gain power and effectiveness when allied with unions, social movements, and public institutions, but remain weak in isolation
- Apolitical cooperatives inevitably drift toward reproducing the systems they were meant to challenge, requiring explicit socialist political mandates
- Current examples like the Drivers Cooperative and GKN for Future demonstrate that politicized cooperatives can achieve policy victories that isolated unions and advocacy groups cannot
Assumptions
- Democratic control over essential infrastructure is necessary for genuine democracy
- Big Tech's current trajectory toward greater consolidation will continue without effective counterpower
- Cooperatives can maintain their democratic character while scaling up to compete with large corporations
- Socialist political education can successfully radicalize existing cooperative movements
- Unions and social movements will be willing and able to form strategic alliances with cooperatives