It's Monday night, let's kick back with a distributism thread.

Remember back when George W Bush had this idea called the "ownership society?"

Yes, that does seem like a lifetime ago.

Here's what President Bush said about it back then: "If you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our country. The more ownership there is in America, the more vitality there is in America, and the more people have a vital stake in the future of this country."

We agree with this, actually.

The trouble is, for the GOP circa 2004, "ownership" mostly meant privatizing social security accounts and encouraging banks to lend out mortgages that people couldn't afford (which were turned into poorly-regulated exotic debt instruments, which led to, you know...)

But the idea that widely-spread ownership is good for society is at the heart of our vision of economic justice and security for Americans.

Property is good. Markets are good, too. They're not *everything,* but they are part of what makes for a flourishing society where people can provide for themselves and their families.

The question is, who will they serve?

We want an economy that isn't dominated from the top-down, EITHER by the state or by far-flung corporations with little sense of responsibility for their workers or the communities where they operate.

Home ownership is a good thing in many ways. It has risks and costs, but it can give people a sense of independence, stability, and a long-term stake in their communities.

You know what does that even better? An ownership stake in the way you earn your living.

Part of the secret of America's incredible prosperity over much of its history is that so many Americans *owned things* compared to other nations.

Back in colonial times, 9 out 10 ten men in New England owned land, compared to only 1 out of 10 in (old) England. The culture of liberty and civic loyalty that inspired the American Revolution owed a lot to that.

When African Americans were emancipated from slavery, "40 acres and a mule" was the famous slogan for agrarian reform.

What it really meant was true economic freedom: the ability to stand on one's own two feet.

Throughout our history, Americans have understood that ownership is a form of freedom.

Today though, we are increasingly losing the value of ownership. Fewer of us own businesses, or land, or homes. Corporations are even finding ways to turn consumer purchases into rentals so they can keep charging us indefinitely (updated your Microsoft Office recently)?

Quite true. Many industries have been negatively affected by policies that prioritized large businesses over small ones, but some industries work better at scale. There aren't a lot of mom-and-pop car factories.

But... https://twitter.com/ThomasKross4/status/1320915257267789825

We don't have to all be hipster organic quinoa farmers to have an ownership stake in our livelihoods.

Mondragon is a Spanish corporation that employs over 70,000 people.

Those people own it.

A real "ownership society" will involve small and family-owned businesses, worker-cooperatives, employee stock-sharing programs, worker representation on corporate boards, and so on. All of these are ways to give more people power over their economic lives.

(None of that requires a Five Year Plan from the People's Commissar, in case you're wondering).

To a build a humane economy, though, we have to revise our thinking. We too often treat economics as an end in itself, when in fact it is a means. We should judge any economy by how it contributes to healthy families and flourishing communities.

The stuff on the left only matters because of what's on the right. We've got to get that ordering right, otherwise we're lost.