115. Snapshot - Equitism and Reconfiguring Capitalism

Snapshot is a more brief format for introducing listeners to complex concepts they may not be familiar with. We take big ideas and distill them into a bite-sized format so you can get an understanding of these ideas through a particular lens. We’ll explore ideas like moneterism, historical materialism, or opportunity cost, and how they are relevant to the real world. You don’t have to be an expert on economics, we’ll explain it to you. For our discussion today, we will be talking to our returning guest, Mr. Tom Rossman. Mr. Rossman is a financier and investor, who specializes in developing nations and emerging markets. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Mr. Rossman helped establish investment institutions in Turkey, former Soviet Union states, and North Africa. Throughout his career, Tom has helped nations democratize and sustainably develop to bring new opportunities to these regions. He has spoken at conferences across the world from Baku to London to Houston. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and religious studies from Nyack College and earned his master’s from Tufts in international relations. Currently, he is an advisor to the Telosa Community Foundation; a group hoping to build a futuristic from-scratch city that will revolutionize urban living. Mr. Rossman introduces us to the concept of equitism. When most social scientists discuss fairness, they usually mention equality or equity. Equitism takes these ideas a step further. Equitism is a system in which city people own or have a stake in the land. In theory, this should give them more power to determine their socioeconomic outcomes. Together we discussed a brief history of economic thought, how equitism reconfigures capitalism, and how a more even distribution of land can improve environmental outcomes. To check out more of our content, including our research and policy tools, visit our website: https://www.hgsss.org/