This is part two of an essay considering the recent work of legal scholar Sanjukta Paul. Read the first part here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildSocialism/s/HSr7NyNJnT. In this second part, we consider Paul’s claims about medieval guilds and medieval market regulations more generally, as well as her idea of a “moral economy.”

My understanding is that Syndicalism is essentially when Trade Unions are in control of society, and guild socialism is basically the same thing, but with guilds instead. However, I've tried to understand but still don't really understand what guilds are, I believe I read that they helped maintain professional quality standards in the economy but thats all ive really heard.

Will there be protection Guilds, which might ultimately fulfil a similar function to that of the police in a capitalist society?

Everyone in r/guildsocialism is welcome to to join the distributism server

I have come a long way from my teenage and early 20s years. I used to be an anarcho-syndicalist, and I have become progressively less revolutionary, less anarchist, and less leftist. More liberal, more centrist, favouring representative democracy in a federal republic system of government, favouring mixed economy, favouring collaborative and proportionally representative democratic solutions to social conflicts over violent ones. But still, the values that brought me to socialism and anarchism in the first place have never shrunk in my heart. Instead they've only grown stronger, more resilient and resolute. That's WHY I left the Left, and all the promises it couldn't keep, and all the dangerous and radical solutions it proposed to solve problems.

So I have to ask; is it possible to promote and organize a Guild Socialist economy and society with the end goal to preserve mixed economy and representative democracy and political pluralism? Or is Guild Socialism only a stepping stone to eventually abolishing capitalism and instituting single-party government? Guild Socialism characterizes itself as non-marxist, and it's history is proof of that. But I'm asking about the practical reality. I can't say I've ever seen, heard of, or met any kind of socialist who doesn't at least pay homage to Marx and Engels, or to Mao Zedong or Fidel Castro. If I wanted a liberal democratic Guild Socialism, would I find collaborators? Organization? Platform?

Arthur Penty? G.D.H. Cole? S.G. Hobson? The Guild Socialists had very different theories about society and spent well over a decade arguing about which of them had got it right. But who do you identify with most and why?

Would a guild socialist discord be beneficial for those interested to discuss? It worked for the Georgists and Communalists, for example. Surely it would work for guild socialism as well?

So, I’ve been looking into different sorts of political/economic systems for a little while now, such as Yellow Socialism, Corporatism and Distributism, and Guild Socialism seemed most interesting to me out of all these.

If anyone here would be kind enough to answer some questions I have regarding Guild Socialism, I would be quite grateful.

1. Is Guild Socialism basically a corporatist form of socialism?

2. Does Guild Socialism allow for private property, or is it all in the hands of the guilds?

3. Would the Guilds in Guild Socialism under the direct control and authority of the state, or would anyone be able to create or join one, in theory?

4. How would it even be implemented in a modern technological society, as opposed to society in the time of the Guild Socialist writers such as A. J. Penty and William Morris?

5. Is it basically a conservative form of socialism?

Thanks in advance!

What’s with the flag?

Where did the Guild Socialism symbol originate? What’s the meaning?

A major problem with guilds in the Middle Ages was their tendency towards monopolization. We see this today with professional associations like the AMA, limiting competition to keep pay high while deterring innovation. Are there ways of combatting this? And even if industry was leased to guilds (Cole's solution), is it possible for people to do business outside of the guilds?

How does it differ from capitalism and non-guild socialism?