Customer Reviews

The Ownership Solution: Toward A Shared Capitalism For The 21st Century

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"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.

Somewhere in between unbridled capitalism and the welfare state, there has to be a more just and equitable economic system which provides genuine opportunities for all citizens, while preserving incentives for investment. In The Ownership Solution, Jeff Gates outlines a creative, yet credible strategy for empowering working people with a more vital interest in private enterprise. If capitalism can indeed have a human face, the reforms proposed in this provocative book merit careful consideration.

The great value of Jeff Gates' book is that it offers proven and practical ways to untangle some of the most intractable knots in the world today: how to restore a sense of pride and ownership to industry, and how to marry capitalism to ethical values. It couldn't be more timely.

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

Jeff Gates is that most unusual of individuals, the practical visionar

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.

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?