Скачать или смотреть Robert Hockett: The Socialization of Investment

Cornell Law Professor Robert Hockett outlines his vision for democratizing capital and restructuring finance to serve public, not private, interests. Drawing from his new book Making Capital Democratic, Hockett explains why decentralized production requires more centralized, publicly accountable finance. He identifies two key dynamics—the endogeneity of money and recursive collective action problems—that make unregulated markets unstable and speculative. Hockett argues that to sustain real production, finance must be “socialized” through practical, minimal reforms rather than revolutionary upheaval.

He presents a five-part plan, including creating a National Reconstruction and Continuous Development Council, upgrading the Federal Financing Bank to invest in productive sectors, restoring the Fed’s pre-1935 development role, digitizing Treasury accounts to create a universal public payment platform (“digital greenbacks”), and sharing national growth dividends with all citizens. Hockett’s framework shows how modest policy shifts could redirect credit toward long-term prosperity, justice, and sustainability—reviving the public purpose of money and investment.