Forum Post: Goodwill Capitalism

Looking at the way things are going - they are predicting a total economic collapse in 2013 - it is time we took the matter of saving the world in our own hands. The good news is that we have a place to start.

Lets initiate a review and debate on Goodwill Capitalism - at least in the academic circles if not in the policy circles.

I believe folks are just too afraid to radically "alter the behavior" in the marketplace. My own take is not to "alter behaviors" but to "empower the consumer". In any case, what is the cost of continuing as usual? It would be continuing on these huge life altering cycles of recession and growth - where the recession periods are longer than before and the growth cycles are ever so shortlived. In the processes, billions of lives are adversely impacted.

I am not saying Goodwill Capitalism in its proposed format is the answer - but I do feel it a solution and not a patch or a band-aid. It is a solution that truly facilitates the most fundamental assuumptions of a free market economy - that of an involved and empowered consumer base - which should be the true and only regulator of demand and supply forces in the marketplace. Currently, our markets are governed by the whims and fancies of our animal spirits rather than rational decisions driven by individual self-interests.

Salient features of Goodwill Capitalism are:

1. Guarantees life sustaining products and services (Healthcare, Food and Education) for everyone - without exception.

2. Relieves the burden of financing the post retirement expenses of employees from all employers (businesses and governments included) - thereby making them lean, agile and competitive. Basically eliminates all forms of legacy costs.

3. Provides a mechanism for bartering services and products (of life essentials in nature - health care, for example) with social capital - in the form of a supplementary currency that can be exchanged for money as well.

4. In such a marketplace where there is no fear of starvation or survival and where recovery from failures is made easy - individual enterprise will flourish, resources will be employed 100% and consumer demand for goods and services will increase - in a sustainable manner.

5. A growing free market economy with 100% employment will in turn fund this supplementary social currency.

6. The supplemental currency will also provide an effective self regulatory mechanism in the marketplace while leaving the government to maintain the infrastructure and law and order only.

If you think about it, all that can only happen when there is a continuous demand for goods and services in the market and there is a 100% employment of all resources. I believe that Goodwill Capitalism is a system that empowers businesses, governments and indviduals to be productive and to be humane - at the same time.

I honestly believe that the world's most complex problems almost always have the simplest of solutions - but they may just mean we have to start from a clean slate. In a world where billions of dollars are spent in increasing people's life span - but scarecly any thought is given to making their lives worth living - with opportunities, health and education. Whether Goodwill capitalism is the answer or not, we can honestly say we tried....

All we should be looking at is for the experts to seriously review the merits of Goodwill Capitalism and tell us why exactly it won't work - lets see if we can handle that.

Here is a link to the blog site:

http://goodwillcapitalism.blogspot.com/