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• Robert Corfe says:

  October 21, 2013 at 10:07 am

  A prosperous, fair, and free society is not contingent on –

  Privatisation (which is neither “private” nor “personal” but based on corporate financial power) and even less on so-called –
  Common ownership (or socialist-inspired public property) but rather on the –
  Personalisation of property and the establishment of necessary financial-industrial institutions to serve that purpose.

  The Personalisation of property is not founded on the abstract or nebulous ideas of mathematical models, but on the hard empirical evidence of the West Continental powers and the Far East Tigers, as demonstrated in the 4 decades following the post-War period. The fact that widely diverse countries, in terms of cultural traditions, enjoyed equal success, is evidence that the latter is due to economic mechanisms rather than on the influence of cultural or other conditions.
  Personalisation principles put emphasis on Individual ownership as a human right, as facilitated through practical varieties of co-determination and controlling share-ownership schemes.
  The personalisation of property and the democratic mechanisms for its success are only viable in advanced industrial economies where majorities have achieved a sufficient level of social awareness and technical education to control responsibly the means of production, distribution, and exchange. And that evolutionary stage has now been reached in Western Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and amongst the Confucian peoples of the Far East.
  The benefits of a financial-industrial system inspired by the personalisation of property, as made evident by recent history, have been:- Greater efficiency in the production and wider distribution of products and services; greater innovation and choice through stimulating competition; the broader distribution of wealth; greater economic egalitarianism; natural checks and balances in creating a more democratic society; and the achievement of justice as fairness in helping to maximise the happiness of humankind.
  The rationale for the existence of commerce in alignment with the personalisation of property is in sharp contrast to that of privatisation. Whilst the rationale for so-called privatisation or Rentier financial practices lies solely in the maximising of stockholders profits with no consideration of specific productive purpose; the personalisation of property or Productive Profitability is committed to productive ends alone, irrespective of whether these be for tangible goods or marketable services.
  Hence whilst Rentier capitalism puts emphasis on creating money out of money in encouraging usurious tendencies, leading inevitably to the polarisation of wealth; Productive capitalism tends to the greater distribution of wealth through a natural process in maximising productivity for the use of the majority.
  The mechanism distinguishing the two types of capitalism stems from the mode of funding industrial investment. Whilst Rentier capitalism is driven by investors seeking to maximise their returns by whatever means and irrespective of the productive returns to be achieved; Productive capitalism is driven by industrial investment credit banks for the purpose of ensuring effective business and innovation throughout the nation state for the prosperity of all.
  Whilst financial expertise and power is equally of vital importance to both forms of capitalism, the financier within the Rentier system serves the interests of his client, the investor; whilst the financier within the Productive system imposes his authority over the commercial enterprise in ensuring that invested capital is committed to a defined or specific productive purpose.
  A situation now pertains whereby the rationale for “privatisation” or Rentier or Neo-American capitalism, is based on myth or superstitions no less discredited than any defunct scientific, political, religious, or other ideals, which have disfigured peoples in the past. Whilst socialism was finally discredited worldwide with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Rentier or laissez-faire capitalism was finally discredited worldwide with the banking crisis in 2008.
  In view of the social achievement of majorities in the advanced industrial economies, the time has arrived for re-designing our financial-industrial infrastructures. The need for the personalisation of property has now become an ethical imperative for the public good.
  The impact of the changes in society and the world of work over the past 60 years on political life have been significant. All notable parliamentary groups are now trapped ideologically in a time warp of the past, and consequently are unable to address those issues of most concern to peoples today. Leading politicians are aware of this, but nonetheless are forced to maintain a nodding consent to ideas and policies within their operational framework which meanwhile have lost all credibility in the public eye. This is reflected in the collapse of party memberships and voting figures and widespread cynicism.
  The only practicable answer to these problems is the formulation of new ideas or reforms, based on empirical evidence, to act as a catalyst for change. The successful resolution of all issues lead ultimately to ethical decision-making, but ethics in serving the interests of the modern world must not be based on prescriptive criteria (whether religious or other culturally rigid and divisive means) but on the scientific basis of utility.
  For a more comprehensive description of the personalisation of property or Responsible or Social Capitalism, consult the following books by Robert Corfe, available from all good bookshops or libraries, or as E-books on-line:-

  Social Capitalism in Theory and Practice
  Vol. I Emergence of The New Majority ISBN 978-0-9556055-3-6 pp. xxv/282
  Vol. II The People’s Capitalism ISBN 978-0-9556055-4-3 pp. xx/461
  Vol. III Prosperity in a Stable World ISBN 978-0-9556055-5-0 pp. xx/473

  Egalitarianism of the Free Society and the end of class conflict
  ISBN 978-0-9556055-2-9 pp. xviii/317
  The Future of Politics with the demise of the left/right confrontational system
  ISBN 978-1-906791-46-9 pp. xvi/188
  The Death of Socialism the irrelevance of the traditional left and the call for a progressive politics of universal humanity ISBN 978-1-906791-16-2 pp. xvi/174
  Populism Against Progress and the collapse of aspirational values
  ISBN 978-1-9543161-8-1 pp. xviii/152
  The Democratic Imperative the reality of power relationships in the nation state
  ISBN 978-1-909421-14-1 viii/234
  Deism and Social Ethics the role of religion in the third millennium
  ISBN 978-0-9543161-9-8 pp. xx/201
  Freedom From America for safeguarding Democracy and the Economic and Cultural integrity of peoples ISBN 978-0-9543161-5-0 pp. xviii/222

  An open invitation is made by ARENA BOOKS to political/social science academics to contribute reviews, features, other articles, or books, or otherwise engage in the debate, on Robert Corfe’s socio-economic analyses and conclusions, with their cross-party implications and repudiation of viewing issues through the left/right divide. It may be noted that his practical philosophy has been developed developed over a 40-year period. An approach may be made to the following –

  James Farrell, ARENA BOOKS arenabooks@tiscali.co.uk
  Tel:- 01284-754123
  6 Southgate Green, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2BL,

  or to the author direct –

  Robert Corfe robertcorfe@tiscali.co.uk
  Tel:- 07818-028536

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