Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person

“In your hands, at long last, is that desperately needed treatise that safeguards individual sovereignty over the power of the state, as well as over the so-called “personhood” of the modern day corporation. Chronicling a lineage of thought — from Aristotle and Aquinas, through the development of Catholic social teaching, and into the economic thought developed through Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say, Harold G. Moulton, Louis O. Kelso and Mortimer Adler — ECONOMIC PERSONALISM provides a high-level road map for future reforms and a basis for action today.”

— Ian Citti

“ECONOMIC PERSONALISM is consistent with the conceptual framework called the ‘Just Third Way’, an economic system centered on the dignity, empowerment, and full development of every person, void of systemic human poverty, structural racism, sexism, social violence, and plantation economics.  Within the democratic social construct of  ‘economic personalism,’ when Black Lives Matter, all lives matter. We are all called to become ‘laborers together with God’ (I Corinthians 3:9) and ‘His ministers of reconciliation’ (II Corinthians 5:17-19) – living a testimony-driven life – with love, property, power, and justice, for all.

— Rev. Dr. Robert Brantley

“ECONOMIC PERSONALISM: Power, Property and Justice for Every Person is an excellent introduction to the philosophy and practice of broadened capital ownership as proposed by Louis Kelso and Mortimer Adler. It reflects the same interfaith philosophy and advocacy of the worker and employer solidarity movement of Central America. It is the only ‘Third Way’ alternative between socialism and capitalist limited ownership.”

— Joseph W. Recinos, Director, Advisory Council, Unión Solidarista Guatemalteca

“This must-read book provides a historical perspective and puts forward a new understanding of private property, money and credit. It explains how asset-backed money and self-liquidating capital credit can be used as tools for financing sustainable and broadly owned economic growth in a globalized and technology-driven world far less dependent on human labor contributions. Michael Greaney and Dawn Brohawn show how it is possible to finance new capital formation by democratizing productive capital credit and increasing production in the future instead of relying on decreasing consumption in the past. By collateralizing loans with capital credit insurance instead of with existing wealth owned by the borrower, it is possible to create sound money as needed to enable people who do not presently own capital to become capital owners. The foundation for this new, economically just and socially moral paradigm is the JUST Third Way of “Economic Personalism.” 

— Gary Reber, Editor, Widescreen Review

“The world needs a new “ism.” Humanity has struggled through the moral, social and economic defects of the two prevailing “isms” (paradigms) of Capitalism and Socialism. The first exalts an “everyone for themselves” philosophy that ignores extreme imbalances of opportunity, ownership and power. The second exalts the “rights” of the collective above those of the human person, empowering those in charge of redistributing income, wealth and opportunity. In ECONOMIC PERSONALISM the authors examine the just third way of Personalism as understood by philosophers and theologians such as Pius XI, John Paul II and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and extend its universal principles to the world of economics. This book opens a door to optimism and hope; by working together we can structure our institutions to empower every human person. It offers practical ways we can achieve widespread citizen ownership of productive capital through changes to our monetary and tax systems. And it offers a way to finance the future without injury to the rights, including property rights, of anyone, and without destroying the environment. Economic Personalism is the “ism” the world has been seeking.”

— Dave Hamill
Host, Just Third Way Podcast
and CEO, Esteo Group Inc. (Excellent Service Through Employee Ownership)

“Catholic Social Teaching is impossible to reconcile within the capitalist/socialist paradigm.  We owe our thanks to the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) for providing us with an economic framework within which the principles of Pope St. John Paul II’s Personalism are applied.  It is therefore no surprise to learn that Pope St. John Paul II gave his personal encouragement to the CESJ core group when meeting with them and members of Polish Solidarity in 1987.  ECONOMIC PERSONALISM provides an in-depth understanding not only of the challenges that exist within the current economic system but also a just solution that once implemented will be the cornerstone of building a culture of life.”

— Jeanna Casey, Home School Teacher and Founder, Classical Distributism Facebook Group

“ECONOMIC PERSONALISM presents concise explanations of theory and rational application by individual persons organizing with others to reform economic and financial institutions for the realization of economic democracy.”

— Rudy Wrobel