Capitalist Piglets

Funding for business is going to be in short supply for the foreseeable future - NAMA or no NAMA. Which is why we need to look to other, less orthodox ways of getting funds to those with the imagination and ideas to create wealth. One such example is Kickstarter - a type of micro-finance platform for raising funds for new business ideas. With a strong emphasis on the arts and creativity. Precisely what we need in Ireland right now.

Reading the Kickstarter FAQs it is interesting to see who is providing the back-engine financial platform for the initiative. It isn't Bank of America or Goldman Sachs, it's Amazon. Kickstarter doesn't go the whole capitalist hog and allow 'pledgers' to become shareholders - but it's an inevitable next step (similarly with Kiva in due course I'm sure).

So the free market - plus some web 2.0 apps - will ensure that Capitalism 2.0 will rise out of the ashes (or NAMA-burdened institutions) of Capitalism 1.0. And it looks like it will be fun.

(HT the inspiring Transcapitalist for the story about Kickstarter).