The Ownership Solution Toward a Shared Capitalism for the 21st Century

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Capitalism may have taken over the bulk of the modern world, writes highly regarded government and industry consultant Jeff Gates, but in its current incarnation it has created such dramatic inequities of wealth and power that more individuals than ever now feel detached from its inherent benefits and distrustful of its potential goals. In his revolutionary new book, The Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the 21st Century, Gates outlines a wide-ranging plan to reverse this increasingly universal condition--and the result is a specific blueprint that, he argues, could easily be adopted around the globe. After bluntly describing precisely how things got to be the way they are, he straightforwardly explains how they could be reengineered to provide broad-based prosperity and true security for the disenfranchised in the U.S. and elsewhere (such as Europe, China, Latin America, and South Africa). Based on the premise that "contemporary capitalism is not designed to create capitalists, but to finance capital," Gates shows how today's "institutionalized indifference to the common good" might be reversed by public and private effort so that people and communities can regain control over their fates and subsequently work together for everyone's improved economic vitality. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

A bold and practical vision of how broad-based personal ownership can strengthen communities, businesses, and individuals

Capitalism now reigns triumphant-but in the process has created dramatic inequalities of wealth and left many individuals feeling disconnected. Backed by enthusiastic support from a wide array of legislators, corporate leaders, Nobel laureates, environmentalists, and social and political activists, The Ownership Solution shows how to humanize and localize free enterprise by using ownership as a means for engaging more people in its design.

Customer Reviews:

Kelso.......2007-06-26

Although it's archaic, I recommend an article called "Karl Marx - The ALMOST Capitalist" by Louis Kelso. Kelso praises Marx's intentions, and some of his insights, which would include the creation of the word "capitalism". He faults Marx for his reliance on Ricardo, and on their labor theory of value. Of course value -- what people will pay -- is determined by market forces and personal preference (more so with web-shopping), NOT by the number of man-hours required.

Further, Man (and woman), clumsy and inefficient compared to machines, are being rapidly obsoleted by systems that can think as well as build. WORK is becoming obsolete. Production and even Over-Production can be increasingly accomplished without workers ... but who will buy these products if most people must rely primarly on non-existent jobs for income streams? It's a logjam of prosperity!

Kelso points out that Marx was wrong about labor, Capital itself produces "surplus" value, just as labor does, but Capital (machines and systems) are primarily owned by a very small minority with access to credit or pre-existing wealth. However, while denouncing State ownership or even clumsy partial state redistribution of wealth, and rather than sticking with the classic paradigm which only permits redistribution of wealth via work, Kelso promotes a revamped BANKING and CREDIT SYSTEM to make possible widespread decentralized ownership of the means of production, creating income streams for everyone, not just a minority "leisure class". (I guess it's that or off to the ovens, if the new reality of abundance (replacing scarcity) renders your economic value less than the costs of keeping you housed and clothed and fed.)

I learned about Gates' book from a talk on Kelso and from Norm Kurland who is a pretty high-level muckety-muck. Kurland ran the gamut from military honors, to high-level positions in Washington, to street-level minority activism in the 60s, associations with USAID and meetings with Rick Santorum. What a spectrum, no slouches. Jeff Gates is in good company.

How to save capitalism.......2002-11-07

"The Ownership Solution" is written by Jeff Gates, one of the original forces behind the legislation that created employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in the 1970s. The book seeks to inspire decision makers and business leaders to build on the success of this innovative program. He proposes that similar projects should be launched with the goal of providing opportunities for employees and consumers to gain ownership stakes in the businesses in which they work and spend their money.

Gates argues that the increasingly finance-driven economy has changed the face of capitalism, a phenomenon that has accelerated in recent years. The author shows how the decisions made by detached financial managers results in a system that mainly rewards investors who, by definition, are already wealthy. The speed with which these investments can be reallocated purges the economy of do-good business managers who might choose to devote resources to so-called nonproductive means (such as worker benefits or environmental protections), meaning that workers and society consistently end up losers in this game. Gates believes that the resulting worker insecurity and the marginalization of ever-larger segments of the population ultimately threatens the long-term viability of our democracy.

In contrast, Gates believes that broadening ownership will allow more citizens to feel connected to their workplace and community. His proposals are imaginative but appear to be doable; in fact, some are being practiced in limited form in various places. Here, Gates' writing is at its best. You'll enjoy reading about how DSOPs, GSOPs, CSOPs, RESOPs, VSOPs and yes, ESOPs can help to revitalize the economy and repair our frayed society. Gates suggests that what is needed is the political will to promote these solutions on a larger scale in order to have greater impact and make a difference in people's lives.

Interestingly, a writer in Forbes magazine recently remarked in a condescending manner that ESOPs represent an odd mixture of capitalist and socialist ideas. This suggests to me that the idea has merit. A capitalism that only succeeds in rewarding the top executives of Enron and Citicorp with lavish pay-outs is not sustainable nor is it worth saving. But a capitalism that rewards hard-working employees and consumers with the greater prosperity that comes with earning an ownership stake, as envisioned by Gates, is certainly worth striving for. To that end, I heartily recommend Gates' book to all who are looking for ideas to help save capitalism and to secure the future of our society.

Ivory tower view........1999-10-15

The Ownership Solution by Jeff Gates could also be called Jeff Gates' Book of quotes. Mr. Gates, while clearly learned and well versed in the problems of the world, has failed to recognize that out of context quotes do not support his position. This also assumes you can decipher his position. Personally I found this book to wander, literally, all over the world. Peasants who bearly scratch out a survival existence will never understand or appreciate shared ownership. The human points of view and the individual's place on Maslow's hierarchy are totally ignored and are of critical importance to making Gates' grandiose dream remotely plausible. Gates himself pointed out huge failures in ESOPS. Why then, does he believe they are the solution of all of the earth's problems, from hunger to pollution, to overcrowding? I am baffled by the praise heaped on this book. Mr. Gates has apparently never worked with laborers. I was blessed with a summer on a road crew to open my eyes to a different world. At the end of each week, one of my co-workers talked, in more crude language, about getting paid, drunk, finding a prostitute, and taking whatever was left home to his wife. Many others were planning on joining him. Mr. Gates is probably one of those folks who don't understand why there is a supervisor on a road crew who does nothing but watch people work. Having been there I can tell him that the second the supervisor stops watching, much of the crew stops working. This is foreign to most people with an education and the drive to improve their lives. However, there are millions of people on the earth who perceive those with ownership of business as "not really working." Mr. Gates, in my opinion, never focuses on a single problem long enough to clearly state the problem and how his "solution" will work. He fails to recognize differences among people and he fails to make connections that he thinks will happen on their own. Why does he believe that if more people owned businesses that businesses would stop polluting, would cease creating dangerous products and by-products, and would suddenly be primarily focused on the good of the population? He is not talking about changing the face of business ownership, he is talking about changing human nature. He seems to think that if all of the employees owned the business, the leaders would do what is best for the employee/owners, their children, parents, cousins, and neighbors. United Airlines is one of his pet successes. Currently UAL is not seen in the greatest of light by anyone. Is this his vision for the future?

The Ownership Solution succeeds brilliantly...........1998-12-30

The Ownership Solution succeeds brilliantly in showing how broad based personal ownership can strengthen communities and make global sustainable development possible.

Cornucopia of philosophical and practical ideas........1998-12-30

How do we close a growing gap between successful owners and investors and an increasingly anxious underclass? One way would help - more participants in ownership! No one knows more about how that should be done than Jeff Gates and he offers his spectacular insight in this cornucopia of philosophical and practical ideas.

The Ownership Solution: Toward A Shared Capitalism for the Twenty-First Century.(Review): An article from: The Futurist

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The Ownership Solution: Toward A Shared Capitalism for the Twenty-First Century.(Review): An article from: The Futurist
Harlan Cleveland
Manufacturer: World Future Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from The Futurist, published by World Future Society on June 1, 1999. The length of the article is 1529 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Ownership Solution: Toward A Shared Capitalism for the Twenty-First Century.(Review)
Author: Harlan Cleveland
Publication: The Futurist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 1999
Publisher: World Future Society
Volume: 33 Issue: 6 Page: 52(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the Twenty-First Century

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The Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the Twenty-First Century
Jeffrey R. Gates, Stephan Schmidheiny Jeff Gates
Manufacturer: Perseus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OONB8U

Book Description

The creation and management of knowledge is a central concern to business and management, both as a source of value and as an opportunity to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. This new book brings together some leading management thinkers in the area of knowledge and innovation management in a state of the art collection of studies in this field. It brings theory and practice together through a number of case studies, such as Hewlett Packard, DaimlerChrysler, Lotus, and Unilever.

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Taphonomic studies are a major methodological advance, the effects of which have been felt throughout archaeology. Zooarchaeologists and archaeobotanists were the first to realise how vital it was to study the entire process of how food enters the archaeological record, and taphonomy brought to a close the era when the study of animal bones and plant remains from archaeological sites were regarded mainly as environmental indicators.This volume is indicative of recent developments in taphonomic studies: hugely diverse research areas are being explored, many of which would have been totally unforeseeable only a quarter of a century ago.

Vertebrate Taphonomy (Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology)

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A must have for any archaeologist.

Vertebrate Taphonomy (Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology)
R. Lee Lyman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521458404

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In recent years archaeologists and paleontologists have become increasingly interested in how and why vertebrate animal remains become, or do not become, fossils. Vertebrate Taphonomy introduces interested researchers to the wealth of analytical techniques developed by archaeologists and paleontologists to help them understand why prehistoric animal remains do or do not preserve, and why those that preserve appear the way they do. This book is comprehensive in scope, and will serve as an important work of reference for years to come.

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A must have for any archaeologist........1999-12-22

A long, technical, and amazing compilation of what every zooarchaeologist should know. Not for the beginner.

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"Taphonomy is plainly here to stay, and this book makes a first class introduction to its range and appeal."—Anthony Smith, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

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Owls, Caves and Fossils: Predation, Preservation and Accumulation of Small Mammal Bones in Caves, with an Analysis of the Pleistocene Cave Faunas From Westbury-Sub-Mendip, Somerset, U.K.

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Owls, Caves and Fossils: Predation, Preservation and Accumulation of Small Mammal Bones in Caves, with an Analysis of the Pleistocene Cave Faunas From Westbury-Sub-Mendip, Somerset, U.K.
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The Olduvai Bed I archaeological sites, dating back to almost 2 million years, have been at the epicenter of the debate on how early humans behaved. This book presents a new analytical approach which, after having been applied to these sites, has produced unexpected results: the association of stone tools and faunal remains at most Olduvai Bed I sites is accidental and not related to hominid behavior. Only at one site, FLK Zinj, is this association intentional. Through careful taphonomic analysis of this site, coupled with detailed experimental work, it is possible to rule out the hypothesis that hominids were passive scavengers. Hominids were targeting meat in the exploitation of animals, which they probably obtained through some degree of predation, and their behavior seems to have been more advanced than previously thought.

Palaeoenvironments of vertebrates on the southern shore of Tethys: The nonmarine Early Cretaceous of Tunisia [An article from: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]

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Palaeoenvironments of vertebrates on the southern shore of Tethys: The nonmarine Early Cretaceous of Tunisia [An article from: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]
P.E. Anderson , M.J. Benton , C.N. Trueman , and Paterson
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PC6NXQ

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This digital document is a journal article from Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Through the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the southern shore of the Tethys Ocean migrated north and south over short distances. These vicissitudes are documented in the 'continental intercalaire', a long series of mainly non-marine sediments deposited across North Africa. A combined taxonomic, physical and chemical taphonomic study provides independent lines of evidence for reconstruction of palaeoenvironments within this marginal marine setting. The Douiret, Chenini and Oum ed Diab formations from the Tataouine basin of southern Tunisia span the later part of the Early Cretaceous. Microvertebrates from four sites in these formations show different modes of physical abrasion, time averaging, and mixing, based on a taphonomic analysis using a combination of physical and chemical methods. The taxonomic composition of each assemblage, and trends in rare earth element (REE) compositions of bones, from each locality were used as independent lines of evidence to indicate differences in early depositional environments. The Jebel Boulouha assemblage (Douiret Formation) is interpreted as a terrestrial carbonate-rich environment with relatively little mixing. The Touil el Mra assemblage (Oum ed Diab Formation) suggests a marginal marine environment with some mixing of previously interred bones. The Oued el Khil assemblage (Chenini Formation) and the Oum ed Diab assemblage (Oum Ed Diab Formation) are more equivocal, suggesting mixed freshwater and marine influences. Interpreting salinity in marginal marine settings is difficult, and best attempted from multiple, independent lines of evidence. We suggest that REE geochemistry can contribute to palaeoenvironmental reconstruction when used in combination with other, independent physical, palaeontological and /or geochemical methods.

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Pollen, plant macrofossils and microvertebrates from mid-Holocene alluvium in east-central Iowa, USA: Comparative taphonomy and paleoecology [An article ... Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]

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Pollen, plant macrofossils and microvertebrates from mid-Holocene alluvium in east-central Iowa, USA: Comparative taphonomy and paleoecology [An article ... Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]
P.T. Work , H.A. Semken , and R.G. Baker
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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This digital document is a journal article from Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Pollen, plant macrofossils, and micromammals are commonly used in paleoecological interpretations, but rarely are found associated because of distinctly separate taphonomic pathways into the fossil record. The Lilienthal local biota, dating between 5920+/-60 and 6300+/-80 ^1^4C B.P., is a rare exception as the site contains all three proxies juxtaposed in alluvium, impounded upstream from a fossil log near the headwaters of Mud Creek, east-central Iowa, U.S.A. A variety of taphonomic processes can strongly influence the composition of fossil assemblages. This paper compares the taphonomic framework for each fossil group, interprets the paleoecologic signal from each, and then compares the three interpretations. Pollen and plant macrofossils are found in organic silts, indicating deposition in a quiet water environment. Microvertebrates ordinarily occur in sand-sized sediments and show evidence of fluvial transport. Despite these different pathways, all Lilienthal assemblages indicate that a largely closed mesic deciduous forest grew along Mud Creek in mid-Holocene time. Therefore, a narrow north-south ecotone must have existed between the forest and tall-grass prairie biomes in eastern Iowa. This robust data set provides a detailed picture of the paleoecology and paleogeography of this past environment.

U-series dating and taphonomy of Quaternary vertebrates from Brazilian caves [An article from: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]

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U-series dating and taphonomy of Quaternary vertebrates from Brazilian caves [An article from: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]
A.S. Auler , L.B. Pilo , P.L. Smart , X. Wang , and Hoffma
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PAUMTY

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The geochronology and taphonomy of internationally important fossil bearing cave deposits were studied, both in the semi-arid Northern Bahia area and the subtropical southeastern Lagoa Santa area of Brazil. Taphonomic analysis suggests that the processes responsible for bone accumulation in the Brazilian caves vary between sites, and taphonomic bias can therefore be significant in causing differences in faunal composition. In the Toca da Boa Vista caves the presence of single articulated skeletons, and the entrance-related distribution indicate that random penetration of animals is the main mechanism of fossil accumulation, a process that biases the assemblage to smaller species, and takes place over extended time periods. In nearby Toca dos Ossos cave transport by runoff in the cave river is predominant, and biases the fauna remains to larger more robust bones and species. Deposition probably also occurred only at times of enhanced runoff giving a more contemporaneous assemblage. Similar processes were responsible for emplacement of the copious fossil remains in the more humid Lagoa Santa area, where terrigenous fossil deposits are found intercalated by massive speleothem calcite layers. In this area runoff under a drier climate probably accounts for the sediment emplacement inside caves. In both areas the mode of emplacement implies bias in the fossil record, resulting in fossil assemblages that do not mirror surface faunas, limiting palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Mass spectrometric U-series analysis of speleothem calcite overlaying fossil remains gives minimum ages for fossil deposition. These ages confirm the previous view that many of the deposits derive from the late glacial, but also show that much older material (some >350,000 yr) is also present. The habitat requirements of critical fossil species such as bats and monkeys strongly suggest that they derive from much wetter periods when forest cover was present in the currently semi-arid Northern Bahia area. Taphonomy exerts a major control on the diversity and mode of emplacement of cave fossil deposits in eastern Brazil and thus detailed sedimentological and hydrological studies coupled with a sound geochronological approach are essential in quantifying the relative importance of each taphonomic processes before faunal and palaeoecological interpretations can be attempted.

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