Everything for Everyone — Literally
An Open Letter to Nathan Schneider
Dear Professor Schneider,
Your book title haunts me: “Everything for Everyone: The Radical Tradition That Is Shaping the Next Economy.”
I read it three years into building Liana Banyan. I’d been calling what I was doing “cooperative commerce” without realizing there was a movement, a history, a consortium of people working on the same problem. Your book gave me context — and courage.
Now I’d like to show you what I built.
The Radical Tradition, Applied
You wrote about platform cooperativism as the convergence of two proven systems: cooperatives (200 years of history) and platforms (a quarter-century of digital infrastructure). You argued that the combination could address the weaknesses of both.
I took that seriously. Here’s the result:
Structure: Liana Banyan is a cooperative corporation with three commercial portals funding six charitable initiatives. Not “do well then do good” — the giving is built into the operating model.
Ownership: Blockchain-verified medallions distribute equity to contributors. Musicians licensing songs, creators selling products, members participating in governance — everyone earns ownership proportional to contribution.
Economics: Cost + 20%. Fixed margin, published and auditable. On a transaction, the creator keeps 83%+. The platform takes only what it needs to sustain operations.
Governance: Democratic participation through transparent systems. Not token-weighted plutocracy — actual cooperative governance with stability mechanisms to prevent capture.
The History You’ve Documented
You’ve traced the cooperative tradition from Rochdale to Mondragon to the digital present. You’ve shown how worker ownership transformed communities, how democratic governance changed industries, how the “radical tradition” keeps resurging when extraction becomes unbearable.
I think we’re at one of those moments. The platform economy has extracted enough that people are ready for alternatives. The question is whether those alternatives can compete.
The Question I Can’t Answer Alone
You’ve studied what makes cooperatives succeed and fail. The capital formation challenges. The governance complexities. The tension between cooperative values and market competition.
I’ve built something I believe in. But I don’t know what I don’t know.
What I’m asking:
- Where does this model break? You’ve seen cooperative attempts fail. What patterns should I watch for?
- What’s missing from my analysis? The economics are at Cephas.LianaBanyan.org — I want academic scrutiny.
- Who should I talk to? If this holds up, who in your network would want to see it?
The Personal Part
I grew up in Tanzania. My father read me “The Little Red Hen” — the version where everyone who helps, owns a piece. That story shaped everything I’ve built.
You wrote that cooperativism isn’t just an economic model — it’s a way of being in relationship with each other. I believe that. I built a platform around it.
Now I need people who’ve studied this tradition to tell me if I got it right.
Jonathan Jones Founding Manager, Liana Banyan Corporation November 2025
P.S. — “Everything for Everyone” isn’t just your book title. It’s the design specification I’ve been working from.
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