Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ)

Background

The Center for Economic and Social Justice is an all-volunteer think tank, educational center, and “social action catalyst.” It supports the Economic Democracy Act to enable universal citizen access to capital ownership through reforms to the monetary and tax systems. The underlying philosophy is called the Just Third Way, which is a hybrid of capitalism and socialism. ³ The CESJ was established in 1984 by Norman Kurland, William Ferree, and other advocates for social and economic equity at American University in Washington, D.C. ^{4  5}

The Economic Democracy Act calls for major reform to the American monetary and banking systems. It claims that racism, poverty, and violence are causing a growing divide between the “haves” and the “have nots.” The Act dictates that every citizen would receive credits each year in a Capital Ownership Account which could only be used to invest in the stocks of companies that pay dividends. The Act then incorporates assumptions that these non-transferable accounts would grow and produce a small income throughout the individual’s lifetime, and a larger annual income at age 65. ⁶

Its strategic plan includes a proposed approach to pass the Economic Democracy Act through presentations to influential leaders, mass communications, education for CESJ members, coordination with affiliated organizations, and smaller local projects leveraging economic democratization models. ⁷

Work Areas

In 2002, the William H. Donner Foundation funded the Center for Economic and Social Justice’s work to develop a policy reform proposal entitled Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen: A Just Free Market Solution for Saving Social Security, which describes the Just Third Way approach and economic reforms to democratize capital ownership. ^{4  8}

From 2005 to 2015, the CESJ partnered with the Coalition for Capital Homesteading and other activists for an annual “Own the Fed” protest rally at the Federal Reserve Building. The protest calls for policy changes at the Federal Reserve to support a citizen-owner paradigm. ⁴

Justice University was established in 2010 by CESJ to educate students on Just Third Way. In 2019, it launched an online classroom. It currently offers a certification program with a free ten-lesson course that focuses on the Just Third Way and the Economic Democracy Act. ^{4  9  10}

The CESJ has developed a variety of “ownership democratization vehicles,” such as stock ownership plans and citizen land development cooperatives. It has worked with local communities and activists to create citizen land development cooperatives in St. Louis, Missouri; Cleveland, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; and Louisville, Kentucky. ⁴

The CESJ created the Homeowners Equity Corporation as a new way to finance homes. It buys foreclosed homes and lets families stay in them under a lease-to-equity plan until they can reclaim ownership. ¹¹

The CESJ offers educational events including seminars and conferences on “techniques for expanding capital ownership.” It commissions studies and internships to continue its research on economic models to support capital ownership. It publishes articles, books, and digital materials, and continues to partner with other organizations and develop networking opportunities. ¹²

Associated Organizations

The Center for Economic and Social Justice is part of a network of organizations dedicated to the Just Third Way philosophy, including the Economic Democracy Act Network, Descendants of American Slaves for Economic and Social Justice, the Coalition for Capital Homesteading, the Global Justice Movement, and the Unite America Party. ²

The Economic Democracy Act Network is the 501(c)(4) sister organization that supports the Economic Democracy Act through lobbying and advertising. ¹³

Descendants of American Slaves for Economic and Social Justice promotes the Just Third Way and the Economic Democracy Act for the sake of marginalized communities. ¹⁴

The CESJ is a founding member of the Coalition for Capital Homesteading, the Global Justice Movement, and the Unite America Party. ^{3  5} The Coalition for Capital Homesteading is the advocacy arm of the CESJ’s Economic Democracy Act, which was formerly called the Capital Homestead Act. ^{15  16} The Canada-based Global Justice Movement does educational outreach and advocacy to support the Just Third Way, focusing on decentralizing power and guaranteeing access to property. ¹⁷

The Unite America Party was established in 2014. Its primary focus is advancing election administration rules including open, all-candidate primaries and majority winners. It has adopted the Just Third Way philosophy and the CESJ’s Economic Democracy Act to support economic and social equity. ^{3  18  19}

Funding

Equity Expansion International, which is led by the Center for Economic and Social Justice’s co-founder and president Norman Kurlan, contributes a portion of its profits to the CESJ. ²⁰

About 80 percent of the CESJ’s revenue is funded through program services, 15 percent comes from charitable contributions, and less than 5 percent is from investment income. ²¹

Leadership

Norman G. Kurland is co-founder and president of the Center for Economic and Social Justice. He is a lawyer and economist, and supporter of expanded ownership policy reforms. ⁵ Kurland is a co-founder and managing director of investment banking and consulting group Equity Expansion International, ²² which implements the Just Third Way strategies of sharing capital, including the design of Employee Stock Ownership Plans. He also co-founded the Coalition for Capital Homesteading, the Global Justice Movement, and the Unite America Party. Previously, he was the executive director of the Institute for the Study of Economic Systems and director of planning for the Citizens Crusade Against Poverty. In 1975, he developed the first Employee Stock Ownership Plan. ^{5  23  24}