Julian Pratt

Stewardship Economy: Private Property Without Private Ownership Julian Pratt

This book takes a radical approach to the problems of market economies. It doesn't question the role of market mechanisms themselves, or the role of government in regulating the economy and providing public goods. It does however question one of the foundations on which market-based economies are based: the system of property rights. It suggests that the form of private property that works well for the things we make is entirely inappropriate when applied to the natural world. It proposes an alternative - stewardship. The underlying principle of stewardship is that everyone is entitled to an equal share of the wealth of the natural world. In practical terms this means that stewards of land pay a fee that is equal to its market rent. This is used to provide revenue for the government in place of conventional taxes or to provide a Universal Income that is distributed to everybody.