It may be more practical for unions, which may be simpler to regulate because for the most part they do (or should do) just one thing only: Negotiate contracts.
As a practical matter, unions are seen as having two faces a monopoly face and a collective voice face so that the net effect is always an empirical question.
When Richard Dorr and John Mace chose to marry at the respective ages of 84 and 91, for example, they made little mention of any practical benefits their union might bring: "To be able to start a new phase of life by being married after 61 years would really be a completion of something that's been quite marvelous and wonderful for us both," the couple stated.
So when the next phase of the campaign is unveiled at congress this week, here are three practical policies that unions will press: First, defend the 50p tax rate.
My current four-year, five-country research project on young workers and the labor movement aims not only at contributions to theory but also at practical recommendations for unions and other organizations that advocate for workers.
The company said it had put a "practical offer" to the union for consideration to get Friday's strike called off, although the union said there had been no real concessions, describing it as a "non-offer".
The union gave practical and psychological support, without which I would not have been able to return work".
GTR said it had put a "practical offer" to the union for consideration to end the industrial action, but Aslef denied this.
In the speech in Edinburgh ahead of talks with Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, Mr Cameron's focus will be on what he calls the "entirely positive" and "practical" aspects of the union.
There is obviously something to this thought – except that the practical success of the union has often depended on a credible delegation of power to political, administrative and legal bodies that were not at the whim of politicians keeping an eye on the next election (or the closest lobbyists).
