Book Review-A Real OWNERSHIP Society

Tom Cobb, A Real OWNERSHIP Society, Outskirts Press, Inc., Denver, Colorado $14.95/ISBN: 1-59800-350-x With 23 years experience in corporate finance and consulting , Tom Cobb has observed the design flaws of the modern corporation from all sides. Out of these observations has come the inspiration for creating better corporations, and by extension, a better world. He has described : A Real Ownership Society in four Chapters: Introduction Some Reading Instructions A New Form of Corporate Ownership A Role for the Government And has discussed a: Portrait of a Better World in five Chapters: A Test For Freedom and Efficiency Better For Investors Better For Producers Better For Consumers Better For Citizens And has outlined his Conclusions in one Chapter. Conclusions: " And then we find that much of it has gone into their pockets, and the pockets of those who run our companies through elaborate schemes of fraud and deception. Because of the visibility and prevalence of our wealth, it is hard for us to believe these contradictions can be blamed on the system." He then goes on to say "in view of all of this, it is too easy to say that the system must be holding up its end if it can deliver such tremendous wealth. From there, we conclude that it can only be our own folly that makes us squander it. The dysfunction that we see plain as day in our work places, and in our marketplaces, and in our financial markets are blamed not on the system, but rather on our immutably flawed nature, our frailties as mere human beings." Further, he says "And so it is that we let the system off the hook. We let it go unexamined. There are other reasons we leave the system unexamined. One is that the world has never produced a successful alternative, despite having tried." "These failures have further supported our ingrained belief that whatever is wrong with us, its of our own making, beyond fixing through reform. Do we have systemic, structural problems that can be fixed through rule changes, or even more simply through a new way of thinking?" According to Tom Cobb, we do. And, he goes on to enlighten us in a well thought out, well planned book that completes the argument. He shows us how to make modern corporations work by restructuring them as a formal partnership between holders of capital and workers.