Читать книгу Ours - Peter Barnes - Страница 7

James K. Boyce

Ours introduces a transformative idea whose time is coming: universal property.

Universal property is a birthright belonging equally to all. It is individual, it is inalienable, and it is perfectly egalitarian. Unlike private property, universal property cannot be bought and sold, owned by corporations, or concentrated in a few hands. Unlike state property, income derived from the use of universal property flows not to governments but directly to the people themselves.

As Peter Barnes explains in this lucidly written book, universal property can help address some of the gravest failures in the functioning of markets and governments alike: above all, the growth of extreme inequalities of wealth and income and the destabilization of the Earth’s climate by rampant carbon emissions. We urgently need innovative solutions that will reduce inequality without increasing carbon emissions, and reduce carbon emissions without increasing inequality.

In making the case for universal property, Barnes breaks from the well-worn state-versus-market divide that has delimited conventional political discourse in the past two centuries. He offers a fresh vision for the twenty-first century that draws on the pioneering works of earlier writers like Thomas Paine and Henry George, who also defied the ideological boxes that today we call “left” and “right.”

At a time when inequality has metastasized – when twenty-five men in the world own more wealth than the bottom 4.5 billion – it is crucial that we create a more level playing field for all. Universal property is one way to move in this direction.

At a time when climate destabilization poses grave risks to millions of people here and now, and even graver risks to future generations, it is crucial to curtail the amount of fossil carbon we dump into the air, while at the same time protecting the real incomes of working families from increases in the prices of energy. Treating the limited capacity of the biosphere to absorb emissions as universal property is one way to do this.

At a time when many nations are sharply polarized along lines of race, ethnicity, class, and conflicting partisan loyalties, it is crucial to find shared interests and values that can help to unite us. Universal property is one way to build this common ground.

Offering a bold path to a more equitable, sustainable, and sane society, Ours will appeal to a readership as wide and diverse as the ownership of universal property itself.