The best economic idea I have seen is worker coops. They are a very ingenious hybrid of capitalism and socialism. There are a few relatively small worker coops in the U.S. The world’s biggest coop is Mondragon in Spain, with about 90,000 employees.
Worker coops compete for profit, just like under capitalism. The difference is that the companies are owned by the workers. There are no doubt variations among different coops, but this is how it works at Mondragon. To become employed it is necessary to buy shares in the company. If you can’t afford it, the company will allow you to pay over time through paycheck deductions. Every employee has an equal number of shares and has an equal vote. In addition to salary, workers receive equal portions of profits from the stocks they are given.
Workers at Mondragon do not vote directly. They elect a commission. One of the things that the commission at each Mondragon outlet does is to determine the range of salaries. Overall, the ratio of top to least salary is about 10 to 1. This places a restraint on the company’s ability to attract top executives, but it has been doing rather well. Part of the reason is the increased productivity of workers when they are given a share of the profits.
I have seen criticisms of Mondragon from the right and from the left. Those on the right call it socialist and those on the left say it does not go far enough and maintain that it is still embodies all the evils of capitalism. I take it as a good sign when you get opposite arguments from the extremes.
There is a book on worker coops by a university professor that I hope to get around to reading.
Although worker coops do not need an act of government to get started, I can envision passing laws that would favor or at least encourage them. They may eventually emerge on their own out of the ruins of capitalism, but it would be wise not to wait for that to happen.