The Efficiency of a Modern Technology Commons

Society's tools (technology) are subtly monopolized through residual-feudal exclusive title to patents and the stock market is the economic structure through which those subtle-monopoly profits are harvested:

That stock markets are crucial to raising investment capital in a modern economy is a myth. Most stock traders have no contact with new issues of stock and those who [do] are primarily taking an already established private company public. Most corporate investment needs are financed from profits, liberal depreciation schedules, and borrowing. As currently structured, investing in stock markets is primarily a bet on which corporation will most successfully expand its share of national and world markets. These are not investments in production.[10]

Adam Smith recognized that capital is a part of the commons, properly belongs to labor, and that the current residual-feudal exclusive structure of property rights increases costs: "Produce is the natural wages of labor. Originally the whole belonged to the labourer. If this had continued all things would have become cheaper, though in appearance many things might have become dearer."[11]Nowhere is this clearer than in residual-feudal exclusive patent rights. This can be understood by analyzing the increase in wealth through restructuring those laws to eliminate subtle monopolies.

While leaving old patents intact, all should be able to use any new patent through paying a reasonable royalty. Older patents will soon run out and all patents will then be available for use by anyone. Through competition within a modern commons patent overcharges disappear, inventors are better paid, and consumer prices drop precipitously.

The developer of a patent should also be well paid. Therefore, patent laws should be expanded to include development patents that also are available for all to use through paying a royalty. Both the inventor and the developer are now protected by patents, just as now, but they cannot monopolize. This is right by the philosophy of Adam Smith; the only protection to the producer would be the highest quality production at the lowest possible price.

An even cheaper and more efficient system would be society analyzing patent use and paying inventors a capitalized cash payment in lieu of a royalty. This would eliminate most accounting costs. Full rights and true free trade will have replaced residual-feudal exclusive property rights. Prices will drop rapidly even as product quality is maximized.

Subtle-monopoly profits are currently harvested through stock prices. With all companies having rights to use any technology, creative destruction of perfectly good industries (capital destroying capital) through residual-feudal exclusive rights to superior technology will be replaced by all companies using the latest and most efficient technology. The creative destruction will now be internal within industries rather than new industries utilizing new technology causing the shutting down of others' perfectly good industries. The cost to society of well-run industries shutting down will be replaced by those industries retooling, continuing to operate, and calmly expanding to other regions in step with the increase in buying power in those regions. The logistics of being near resources and markets replaces subtle monopolization of key technologies taking over markets.

As industries rationalize, so do markets. With calm secure industries making minimum (yet adequate), not maximum, profits in a truly-competitive, truly-free, market as opposed to maximum profits in a subtly-monopolized market, the market for options, futures, selling short, all derivatives, and the enormous sums they claim, will shrink to a tiny fraction of today's subtly-monopolized markets. Under the modernized laws of the commons, full values will be produced, those values distributed to all citizens without added monopoly costs, and-though fair wages and fair profits remain-the tribute paid to subtle monopolists will disappear. The gambling casino (90% of stock market activity) will disappear. The nonproductive speculator has been transformed into a productive investor.

All producers could use the most efficient technology and the most efficient would capture the markets. Subtle monopolists who once lived high on unearned income will have to find productive employment, the workweek will shrink the same percentage as the drop in prices, and far less labor per individual will be required for the same standard of living.

The price of drugs will be possibly 25%, of today's prices. As production and profits will be stable, stock prices will be stable. Investments in new technology however will be as normally speculative as today and, for the alert and truly talented, very profitable. We will now address a financial structure in which, so long as there are unused resources and unemployed labor, there is never a shortage of finance capital.