Peter Barnes is an American practical visionary. His voice combines the pragmatism of Ben Franklin, the urgency of Tom Paine, and the forward-looking hope of Emerson. Capitalism 3.0 is clear, compact, well-argued, and useful. Read it and act.
Lewis Hyde, author, The Gift
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Capitalism 3.0?
Capitalism 3.0 is a new operating system for our economy. It preserves what’s best about capitalism while fixing several tragic flaws.
What are the major flaws in capitalism as we know it?
(1) It destroys nature, (2) widens inequality, and (3) doesn’t make us happy. These flaws are ‘tragic’ in the sense that they’re inescapable consequences of the operating system. Unless we change the operating system, we can’t avoid these outcomes. Tinkering at the edges won’t work.
How does the current operating system work?
The current operating system is driven by three algorithms, or operating instructions, and one starting condition. The algorithms are: (1) maximize return to capital; (2) reward capital owners in proportion to their existing ownership, and (3) the price of nature equals zero. The starting condition is five percent of the people own more capital than the remaining ninety-five percent. When this operating system ‘runs,’ it inevitably devours nature and widens inequality. It also ignores human needs that can’t be met in the marketplace.
How do you fix a system as vast and complex as capitalism?
You do what Bill Gates does: you upgrade the operating system.
How exactly would you do that?
Build a commons sector to counter-balance the corporate sector.
What is the commons?
The commons is a generic term, like the market or the state. It refers to all the gifts of nature and society we inherit or create together and have a joint responsibility to preserve.
What’s in the commons?
The commons is like a river with three tributaries: nature, community and culture. It includes air and water, habitats and ecosystems, languages and cultures, science and technologies, social and political systems, the Internet and the airwaves, and quite a bit more.
What’s happening to the commons?
The commons lacks property rights and institutions to protect it. Hence it’s being steadily enclosed and consumed by profit-maximizing corporations.
What is the commons sector?
The commons sector is a set of institutions that protect and manage pieces of the commons. Its algorithms are: (1) preserve the asset; (2) share benefits and/or income equally; and (3) set the price of nature by supply and demand. At the moment this sector is quite small. Our task for the 21st century is to expand and strengthen it.
What is a commons trust?
A commons trust is an economic institution that holds and manages property on behalf of future generations and all living citizens equally. It’s the commons sector counterpart to the private corporation.
