An inclusive, democratic society is a vision of a future of generalized security, community centers, free Internet books, exchanging roles, qualitative growth and soft power. Unlike a chair, an idea can be shared by a whole people. Without a vision, people become bones for Coca Cola.
OECD Initiative on Inclusive Growth, 2014
202 pp. 3.3 MB:
http://www.oecd.org/inclusive-growth/All-on-Board-Making-Inclusive-Growth-Happen.pdfBild 001_resize
Inequality – now at its highest level in decades in many countries – undermines economic growth and well-being, says this new OECD report. But policies to tackle the widening gap between rich and poor will only succeed if they also look beyond income and address better access to high-quality education, health care and public infrastructure, it adds. One clear-cut lesson from the report is that investing in the education and skills of people at the bottom of the distribution will pay long-term dividends for the economy and enhance individual well-being.
Some presumptions about what "growth" is supposed to be that should be questioned, but the inclusive part is right on and true to the current model. Maxing the productive capacity of a national economy does come with the lowest unemployment rate. That employed population also should be doing its most creative value added work and not just drones on the elite's plantations. This is not a model for the few making as much money as they can. It is a model for an interactive, democratic society where everyone shares in the prosperity.
The only problem is finitude. Thinking about restructuring work and loosening the ties between work and income are necessities along with the guaranteed annual income. Labor saving technology has made the old labor model obsolete. We need to think "post-industrial" to get real inclusion and re-thinking.
Original: Free Internet Book: All on Board: Making Inclusive Growth Happen, 202pp