Positive Sum

FOREWORD: BY PETE STAVROS AND DARREN WALKER

Great books don't just teach us something new. They rearrange the furniture of our minds. Positive Sum is one of those rare books.

The two of us arrived on this page from two very different worlds. One of us (Darren) comes from the vanguard of social justice philanthropy. The other (Pete) hails from one of the largest private equity firms in the world. Yet here we converge, driven by the same uncomfortable realization.

The economic system that has shaped our lives has a flaw that we can no longer ignore. Its rewards have accrued disproportionately to a narrow segment of society, weakening trust, hollowing out opportunity, and straining the foundations of our democracy. That recognition has brought us together to advance a more inclusive form of capitalism, one that includes employee ownership.

Then there's Roy Swan. Roy is not merely proposing incremental reforms. He is challenging the assumptions that have governed modern economic thinking for generations.

Roy likes to call himself a PK (or “Preacher's Kid”); he's not the kind of person you might picture as a Wall Street heavyweight. But that's just what he is. And this dual spirit gives him a rare ability to navigate the finance world with moral clarity, a warm heart and analytical rigor.

In this book, he takes us on a rare and compelling “treasure hunt” through history. The insights he uncovers fundamentally challenge the story we have long told ourselves about capitalism. The ...