Contact: Paul Edward Nowak, 616-425-8873

MEDIA ADVISORY, March 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- With Americans sharply divided over the ideals of socialism and capitalism, a third way economic system is being suggested in an upcoming book: Microcapitalism.

"Microcapitalism is the economics of small business and small government," says author Paul Nowak, who announced his project on March 15. "The idea is to put productive property in the hands of as many private citizens as possible; not concentrating it in the hands of a few citizens, or trusting it to a few government officials."

The encouragement of small business would be more sustainable, more environmentally friendly, and more socially responsible than either unrestricted capitalism or socialism, according to Nowak.

Nowak is promising the book will be finished by April 15 in time for Americans' tax filing deadline. An electronic version of the book will be available for the Amazon Kindle software at that time, but a physical edition will require the support of donors. If enough donations are received, he has promised to release the book for free under a Creative Commons license. His video announcement can be found on the Kickstarter website, and on a Facebook page dedicated to Microcapitalism.

The ideas of Microcapitalism are based in part on the economic principles of G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc, and other advocates for small property ownership who were active during the early decades of the industrial revolution. Early 20th Century small property activists called their plan "Distributism."

"Technology has changed a great deal since Chesterton's time," says Nowak. "His nightmares and prophecies of rampant capitalism and stifling socialism have come true. However, unforeseen advances in technology in the age of microfinance and microlending have made the ideas of small property and small business even more potent and possible."

An April 2009 Rasmussen Reports survey found that Americans under age 30 were split almost evenly when asked about what economic model they preferred. 37% said they preferred capitalism, 33% said they preferred socialism, and 30% were undecided.

A February 2010 Gallup poll found that despite divided views on socialism and capitalism, Americans from both ends of the political spectrum overwhelmingly support small business and entrepreneurs.

"Such results show a need for a new model that better reflects our values, other than the traditional choice of socialism and capitalism," said Nowak.