Community-Based Capitalism

In the new issue of Democracy, the new "a quarterly journal of ideas" put out by some prominent lefties, economist Gar Alperovitz writes a thought-provoking essay on a a fairer route to economic development than the one we're currently traveling though our redux of the Gilded Age.

In a world of deepening deficits, an aging population, global competitive pressure, and persistent public skepticism of government, the appetite for the tax hikes and entitlement programs needed to rebalance these inequities is weaker than ever.

Although the redistributive door is largely closed, the ownership door is, in fact, open. Not ownership in Bush’s skewed sense, but rather ownership in a democratic sense through the possibility of community-based investment in, and control over, wealth creation. Employees, companies, non-profits, cities, and states are using diverse and innovative strategies to create community wealth. It is wealth that improves the ability of communities and individuals to increase asset ownership, anchor jobs locally, expand the provision of public services, and ensure local economic stability, rather than just boost corporate profits and shareholder fortunes. A common thread runs through the employee-owned firms, community development corporations, and even the traditional co-ops: the idea that real wealth equality can only be built by communal involvement in the means by which that wealth is produced. Such approaches provide ownership for millions of Americans–in many cases, through a tangible asset that can appreciate and be passed on to subsequent generations. Others create community wealth by enabling businesses and jobs to stay in the United States.

If you're at all interested in social inequality or in tempering the excesses of capitalism, read the piece. The rest of the issue is better than your average web reading, too.