Three propositions for realising collective value

This paper addresses the problem that we lack clarity about what value and value creation look like which impedes its realisation. Three propositions to address this problem are offered, which are expanded upon in three subsequent working papers. The first proposition is that value is the expanded capacity to act (i.e. power) that we seek from all social investments. The second proposition differentiates collective value creation from value extraction. Power-with is where the value produced from social investments is shared (value sharing). Power-over is where value is hoarded (value extraction). The third proposition is that only a power-with (value sharing) leads to long-term collective virtuous cycles of value creation. Examples are provided of what this looks like in practice indicating the key features of a power-with. In contrast, value extraction risks and undermines value creation by eroding trust, reducing effective feedback, reducing collective members’ capacity to contribute, and can lead to passive withdrawal from value creation arrangements or their active resistance. The authority and legitimacy of society’s agents (e.g. elected officials, public administrators, corporate executives) rests on their facilitation of collective value creation and its dispersal, and on protecting the collective from value extraction.