Innovator turns to designing a better economy

Alan Marshall (left) with his supervisor, Professor Tony Bryant.

Master of Economics student Alan Marshall has had an unusual life so far – he was brought up a Quaker, gained an MBA from Harvard, and was a pioneer in systems engineering. Now he’s applying his unconventional ideas to creating a better economy.

Marshall believes worldwide levels of hunger, famine, infant mortality, poor living conditions and uncertain employment prove that the present system is in need of change.

“A good economic system should provide all humankind with a comfortable life and opportunities to realise their full potential,’’ he says.

Marshall entered Macquarie University as a mature-age student, after a life working with computers. He was one of the pioneers of system engineering, and has seen a revolution which has not necessarily improved lives.

“I think we can make computers work for us better than they do,” he says. “No-one needs to move to some far off Utopia, but merely spend a couple of hours a week moving in a different direction.”

Improving people’s lives

Using new technologies, starting small, and operating in parallel with the present system through a period of experiment and growth are the keys to an economy which meets more people’s needs, Marshall argues.

Marshall says one of the most important criteria for such a system is that it should be decentralised, with decision-making by all participants, whatever their background, and transparent to all. It should also be open to criticism and suggestion. To be effective, it must be efficient, stable and flexible. Its survival depends on it being vigorous and robust. There are no short-cuts, he says, expecting his ideas to take from 50-100 years to come to fruition.

“I would start with some buying co-operatives. We would have experts in different areas as part of the group, such as finding the best bargains in communications or banking or food. Everyone could draw on this. A computer system would record what people had done to contribute, and when the time came when that person wanted something, could go back and look at what he or she had contributed. If what they want is justified by their contributions, then you’ve got a transaction.”

Experiments in co-operative living are popping up all over the world, including here in Australia. Marshall’s own father gave up teaching maths at university to become one of the founders of the Sunkist orange-growers’ co-operative in California.

Commercial and technological underpinning

Unlike many of these alternative communities, however, Marshall’s vision is well-rooted in commercial and technological reality. After gaining his Harvard MBA, he created three different businesses and launched activities within existing organisations.

“We’re about to break free of the telephone networks,” Marshall says. “Using wireless technology, one privately-owned unit can talk to another and pass messages as people connect. You can program devices to do things for you, such as ordering. You only need something like a free Linux operating system and a computer. There are already a lot of networks and newsletters on the Internet. In time new technology will allow our embryonic economy to displace even the largest corporations like Microsoft or General Motors.

“I think it’s fantastic that Macquarie was willing to take me on, was brave enough to explore some of my unconventional ideas,” he says.

For more information, contact Marshall at alanm@bigpond.net.au, his supervisor, Associate Professor Tony Bryant at tbryant@efs.mq.edu.au, and see the Department of Economic and Financial Studies website at http://www.efs.mq.edu.au

More Business and Law stories here