Economic Democracy (officially known as the Economic Democracy Act Network Corp.) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a political philosophy known as the “Just Third Way,” which is a hybrid of socialism and capitalism. Specifically, the group advocates for the passage of an Economic Democracy Act, theoretical legislation that would radically transform the American economy by outlawing most forms of financial lending and granting all citizens investment accounts solely to invest in equities. ¹

Economic Democracy is part of a network of nonprofits dedicated to Just Third Way, including the Center for Economic and Social Justice, Justice University, the Descendants of American Slaves for Economic and Social Justice, and the Global Justice Movement. ²

Economic Democracy Act

The organization, Economic Democracy, is dedicated to passing an Economic Democracy Act, theoretical legislation that would radically transform the American economy. ³

According to Economic Democracy, the U.S. economy is overburdened with unsustainable debt which “incentivizes government waste, war, citizen debt slavery, wealth disparity, top-down exploitation and speculation/financialization of society.” The proposed legislation would cease all lending (both public and private) for non-commercial purposes, including government spending, consumer spending, and speculation. Instead, every American citizen would be granted an Economic Democracy Account (also known as a Capital Ownership Account) that would receive around $10,000 worth of credit each year, roughly equal to the annual increase in national GDP. This credit would be invested “in dividend-paying stocks of well-run corporations.” Economic Democracy claims that this scheme would both eliminate current debt problems and ensure decentralized ownership of key equities as the American and global economy rapidly develops with Artificial Intelligence and other economic revolutions. ^{3 4}

The entitlement program would be funded by radically simplifying the tax system. The standard deduction would be raised to $30,000 per working individual and $20,000 per dependent, while all income (including from work and capital gains) over the deduction would be taxed at a rate of 48 percent. Virtually all other taxes would be eliminated (except inheritance taxes), and dividend payouts would be tax-deductible to corporations. This tax system would allegedly balance the national budget. ⁴

Though the concept of an Economic Democracy Act has existed for more than 50 years, the organization acknowledges that it has been “’treading water’ in policy wonk and academic circles.” ⁵

Ideology

Economic Democracy’s ideology is based on the work of economist and lawyer Louis Kelso, who is best known for formulating the employee stock ownership plan, as well as philosopher William Ferree, a proponent of Catholic social justice. Together, the ideas of Kelso and Ferree are known as the “Just Third Way,” which proponents view as an alternative to socialism and capitalism that incorporates the best elements of both systems while mitigating their alleged shortcomings, namely disincentivizing production in socialism and increasing wealth disparity in capitalism. ^{2 6}

The Just Third Way is associated with the Unite America Party which was formed in 2012. Economic Democracy intends to help register the Unite America Party in every state and nationally. ^{2 6}

Activities

Economic Democracy primarily serves to organize members of the Just Third Way movement around a goal. To that end, the organization gathers volunteers for small protests, solicits donations (starting at $3 per month), and claims to advertise for the movement. ^{5 7}

Leadership

Economic Democracy was co-founded by Dave Hamill, the CEO of Distributed Ventures LLC, a venture capital firm that invests in “risk ecosystem innovation across employer solutions, insurtech and fintech.” He is also the CEO of Esteo Group, an employee-owned trucking company, and helps run the Coalition for Capital Homesteading, another advocacy group supporting Economic Democracy legislation. ^{8 9}

1. “About.” Economic Democracy. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://edanetwork.org/contact-us.
2. “About the Movement.” Economic Democracy. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://edanetwork.org/movement.
3. “The Proposed Law.” Economic Democracy. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://edanetwork.org/law.
4. “The Economic Democracy Act.” Center for Economic and Social Justice. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.cesj.org/learn/economic-democracy-act/.
5. “One Tiny Thing.” Economic Democracy. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://edanetwork.org/news-and-events.
6. “The Just Third Way.” Center for Economic and Social Justice. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.cesj.org/learn/just-third-way/.
7. “Homepage.” Economic Democracy. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://edanetwork.org/.
8. “Dave Hamill.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/davehamill/.
9. “Homepage.” Distributed Ventures. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.distributedvc.com/.