Civilizing the economy: a new economics of provision

284 Pages·2010·1.697 MB·English

by  Brown, Marvin T

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Civilizing the Economy
Whenahandfulofpeoplethrivewhilewholeindustriesimplodeand
millionssuffer,itisclearthatsomethingiswrongwithoureconomy.
Thewealthofthefewisdisconnectedfromthemiseryofthemany.In
CivilizingtheEconomy,MarvinT.Browntracestheoriginofthis
economicsofdissociationtoearlycapitalism,showinghowthisis
illustratedinAdamSmith’sdenialofthecentralroleofslaveryin
wealthcreation.InplaceoftheSmithianeconomicsofproperty,Brown
proposesthatweturntotheoriginalmeaningofeconomicsas
householdmanagement.Hepresentsanewframeworkfortheglobal
economythatreframesitspurposeasthemakingofprovisionsinstead
oftheaccumulationofproperty.Thisboldnewvisionestablishesthe
civicsphereastheplatformfororganizinganinclusiveeconomyandas
thefocusofamovetowardamorejustandsustainableworld.
marvin t. brown teaches business and organizational ethics in
the Philosophy Department at the University of San Francisco and
in the Organizational Systems program at Saybrook University in
San Francisco. His previous books include Working Ethics (1990),
The Ethical Process (2003), and Corporate Integrity (Cambridge
UniversityPress,2005).

Civilizing the Economy
A New Economics of Provision
marvin t. brown
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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© Marvin T. Brown 2010
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may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2010
ISBN-13 978-0-511-72305-6 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-76732-3 Hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-15246-4 Paperback
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Contents
Listoffigures pagevii
Listoftables ix
Preface x
1. Introduction:creatingajustandsustainableeconomy 1
PartI: Creatinganeweconomicframework 15
2. AdamSmith’ssilenceandaneconomicsofproperty 17
3. Reclaimingthenotionsofprovisionandfamily 34
4. Makingprovisionsinadangerousworld 45
PartII: Thecivicoption 57
5. Frompropertyrelationstocivicrelations 59
6. Society,civilsociety,andthemarket 69
7. Restoringreciprocity 83
8. Civicnormsandmarketcompetition 96
PartIII: Acivicviewoflabor,land,andmoney 107
9. Labor:employmentasengagement 109
10. Land:ownershipasaconcession 121
11. Money:commodityorcredit 130
PartIV: Civilizingeconomicsystems 143
12. Aworldofsystems 145
13. Imaginingastakeholdereconomy 159
14. Theethicsofeconomicsystems 178
15. Changingsystemsofprovision 193
vi contents
PartV: Acivicagenda 207
16. Thecivicobligationsofcorporations 209
17. Creatingcircumstancesforcivicconversations 222
Appendix:Freeenterpriseandtheeconomicsofslavery 235
Bibliography 254
Index 262
Figures
1.1 Whatdowereallyneed? 4
4.1 Theeconomyofhumancommunities 47
4.2 Theeconomyofcities 55
5.1 Thecivicsphere 60
5.2 Adwelling 66
6.1 Thediversitywheel 76
6.2 Thecontextofcommerce 81
6.3 Governmentandthecontextofcommerce 82
8.1 Termsfortensionamongpersons 100
8.2 Thecompetitivecontinuum 101
9.1 Twoendsoftheboat 111
12.1 Thesystemofaneconomicsofproperty 147
12.2 Thesystemofaneconomicsofprovision 148
12.3 Cycleofcivicconversations 150
12.4 Carboncycle 152
12.5 Economyasasystemofprovision 157
13.1 Economicsectors 160
13.2 Linearversuscyclicalthinking 163
13.3 Economicsectorsversussystemsofprovision 165
13.4 Corporatestakeholders 167
13.5 Keystakeholdersinaneconomicsofprovision 169
13.6 Civicsystemsofprovision 175
15.1 Primaryandsecondarystakeholders 194
15.2 Stakeholdersofthefoodsystem 195
15.3 Stakeholdersoftheautomobilesystem 199
15.4 Stakeholdersofthehousingsystem 203
16.1 Principlesofcorporatedesign 221
17.1 Civicconversations 223
viii list of figures
17.2 Fourcircumstantialelements 224
17.3 Circumstancesthatpromotecivicconversations 228
17.4 Circumstancesthatblockcivicconversations 231
17.5 Currenteconomiccircumstances 232
17.6 Civilizingeconomiccircumstances 233