As we saw in yesterday’s posting, the goal is to get capital ownership
into the hands not just of ordinary workers, but everybody. The question is, then, ownership of
what? Doesn’t everything already have an
owner?
The answer is that yes, everything that exists in the way of capital or
marketable goods and services already has an owner. That’s why we need to concentrate on future
capital as well as the marketable goods and services that can be produced in
the future, not what has been withheld from consumption in the past. That’s why we advocate that, to get “pure
credit” loans based on the present value of future marketable goods and
services, a company needs to expand its ownership base.
Thus, as a matter of national economic policy, to get loans on
advantageous terms, a company must make the workers into owners of the new
capital financed with the loans generated within Poland. This can be done either when the company in
need of replacement capital sells new shares (which is not fair, as it would
dilute the ownership rights of existing owners) or when current shareholders of
their own free will sell existing shares to an ESOP at a fair market price, but
there may be other ways, as well.
In this way the workers will gradually become the owners of most of the
company. When they own the majority
block of shares, they can vote to purchase the rest of the company, offering a
fair and just price for the remaining shares owned by the foreign investors.
The same thing can be done with companies that are owned by rich Poles.
That is a way to deal with transferring the ownership of capital that
already exists. As I said, however, the
capital (wealth) that can exist
is far greater and more important than the capital (wealth) that does exist. It is, in fact, better for everyone in the
short run to “ignore” existing
ownership, and concentrate on future
ownership.