Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons

The sustainable business expert and author of Climate Solutions presents a plan to upgrade capitalism to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.

The commons—the collective natural and cultural resources that belong to all of humanity—is currently under siege. It is being squandered under our current version of corporate, globalized capitalism. This is Capitalism 2.0. And, according to Peter Barnes, we're long overdue for an upgrade.

Our current operating system gives too much power to profit-maximizing corporations that devour the commons and distribute most of their profits to a sliver of the population. Barnes proposes a revised operating system, Capitalism 3.0, that protects the commons while preserving the many strengths of capitalism as we know it. His major innovation is the commons trust, a market based legal entity with the power to limit the use of the commons, charge rent, and pay dividends—in both cash and services—to everyone.

In Barnes' vision, an array of commons trusts would institutionalize our obligations to future generations, fellow citizens, and nature. Once established, they'd use markets and property rights to create a better world for us all.