We Need to Restore an Economy for the Common Good

Summary

The article advocates for restoring an economy based on the concept of the commons, where resources are shared and managed collectively for the common good.

Abstract

The article "We Need to Restore an Economy for the Common Good" by Douglas Rushkoff argues that the economy should be viewed as a shared asset rather than a competitive battlefield. It emphasizes the importance of reciprocal altruism and shared ownership in fostering long-term business practices and market integrity. The author criticizes the zero-sum mentality that arises from debt-based finance and central currency, suggesting that this mindset is outdated and harmful. Rushkoff points to historical examples, such as the pastures of medieval England and biblical narratives, to illustrate the effectiveness of communal resource management. The article calls for a shift from a scarcity model to one of abundance, where trust and cooperation replace competition and hoarding. By doing so, society can create a more equitable and sustainable economy that benefits all participants.

Opinions

The economy should operate as a commons, where shared ownership leads to shared responsibility and a focus on collective well-being.
Reciprocal altruism is a key principle in a commons-based economy, rewarding cooperation and penalizing those who exploit the system.
The zero-sum mentality perpetuated by debt-based finance and central currency is a detrimental artifact that encourages a competitive and scarcity-driven economic model.
Historical examples demonstrate the viability and benefits of communal management of resources, challenging the modern capitalist paradigm.
A shift towards an economy of abundance, rather than scarcity, is necessary to ensure the integrity of the marketplace and the prosperity of its participants.
The article suggests that the current economic system, which often leads to exploitation and inequality, is not an inevitable reality but a construct that can be changed.

The commons is not a winner-takes-all economy, but an all-take-the-winnings economy

Photo: Graiki/Getty Images

The economy needn’t be a war; it can be a commons. To get there, we must retrieve our innate goodwill.

The commons is a conscious implementation of reciprocal altruism. Reciprocal altruists, whether human or ape, reward those who cooperate with others and punish those who defect. A commons works the same way. A resource such as a lake or a field, or a monetary system, is understood as a shared asset. The pastures of medieval England were treated as a commons. It wasn’t a free-for-all, but a carefully negotiated and enforced system. People brought their flocks to graze in mutually agreed-upon schedules. Violation of the rules was punished, either with penalties or exclusion.

The commons is not a winner-takes-all economy, but an all-take-the-winnings economy. Shared ownership encourages shared responsibility, which in turn engenders a longer-term perspective on business practices. Nothing can be externalized to some “other” player, because everyone is part of the same trust, drinking from the same well.

If one’s business activities hurt any other market participant, they undermine the integrity of the marketplace itself. For those entranced by the myth of capitalism, this can be hard to grasp. They’re still stuck thinking of the economy as a two-column ledger, where every credit is someone’s else’s debit. This zero-sum mentality is an artifact of monopoly central currency. If money has to be borrowed into existence from a single, private treasury and paid back with interest, then this sad, competitive, scarcity model makes sense. I need to pay back more than I borrowed, so I need to get that extra money from someone else. That’s the very premise of zero-sum. But that’s not how an economy has to work.

The destructive power of debt-based finance is older than central currency — so old that even the Bible warns against it. It was Joseph who taught Pharaoh how to store grain in good times so that he would be able to dole it out in lean years. Those indentured to the pharaoh eventually became his slaves, and 400 years passed before they figured out how to free themselves from captivity as well as this debtor’s mindset. Even after they escaped, it took the Israelites a whole generation in the desert to learn not to hoard the manna that rained on them but to share what came and trust that they would get more in the future.

If we act like there’s a shortage, there will be a shortage.

This was section 50 of the new book Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff, which is being serialized weekly on Medium. Read the previous section here and the following section here.