His present offering is a prescription for the ills that affect the global economic system. While the proponents of capitalism talk about democracy and free markets, in reality the present form of capitalism concentrates power in the hands of a few and the activities of the mammoth corporations actually undermine the market s efficient social function. Korten s solution is not phrased in the language of the political left. Rather, he calls for a system of economic democracy, which he says would have pleased Adam Smith, the intellectual father of capitalism. For activities that require a larger scale of organization he points to present networks of small-scaled organizations that work cooperatively.
Current law considers corporations as legal persons.
He is optimistic that such a huge task could be accomplished in a natural and, it would appear from his description, peaceful process. Korten points to the research of Paul Ray and others whose surveys show that there is a growing body of people in the USA who favor holistic, environmental and socially just solutions to contemporary problems. While it is possible that a future change in mass consciousness may favor the economic and social program that Korten has outlined, the process of actually replacing the current system with something else will meet with fierce resistance from the establishment. However, despite this underestimation of the implementation difficulties, Korten s book remains a clearly stated program for a much-needed transformation of the economic landscape of the 21st century. You can buy this book by clicking here.