Assets in Common
* Book: Assets in Common: Stories of Business and Community Leaders Remaking the Economy from the Ground Up. By Charity May, Jay Standish et al. Infrastructure for Shared Ownership, 2024
URL = https://www.assetsincommon.org/
"We showcase examples that already work at scale, led by people who had the odds stacked against them. These leaders have taken risks few have been willing to take, and have done so at the rugged interface between communities in need and modern regulatory environments."
Contextual Quote
"The United States economy is overdue for a shift towards equity and democratic wealth building. As authors, we set out to reveal lesser-known corporate forms and financial structures that leaders can use to enable widespread transformation. We have compiled a curated selection of case studies that demonstrate outstanding examples of an alternative economic paradigm in action. In particular, we are excited about the potential of using shared ownership forms as the core instrument for business ownership and community asset stewardship.
This body of work is an attempt at figuring out how to scale steward ownership and shared ownership.
...
Throughout this book, we describe this in several ways. We use language like ‘connective entities’ and ‘networked businesses’ to describe what we call Infrastructure for Shared Ownership."
- Chelsea Robinson, from the Introduction
Description
"Some of the amazing companies profiled here include the Industrial Commons, Enspiral, Mondragon Corporation, Obran Cooperative, Goodworks Evergreen, Saradex, Sumitomo Group, Clegg Auto, and Calvert Community Investment.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the book is its discussion of what will be for many readers wholly new business models:
- Employee-owned holding companies
- Cross shareholding between banks and businesses
- Business-to-business marketplaces and currencies
- Municipal strategies for assets holdings
- Non-profit ownership of business networks "
(https://solidarityhall.substack.com/p/the-power-of-moving-assets-into-the)