Current Affairs Discussion Group: Building a different future - the rise of conscious capitalism and repurposing globalisation
The next session of the Current Affairs Discussion Group, to be held on Thursday July 23rd from 3.00-4.15 pm, is on the subject of: Building a different future - the rise of conscious capitalism and repurposing globalisation.
Capitalism is earning a bad name as the checks and balances that used to exist to curb the excesses of market forces have over the last few decades been largely eliminated or neutralized by the loosening of regulations. It has become increasingly evident that unchecked, capitalism works mainly for the few. Ways need to be found to make it more inclusive, so that it works for the many.
Globalization is a fact; it has its advantages and disadvantages, its supporters and its detractors, but it is here to stay. Disruption of international supply chains for food and for the medical and pharmaceutical goods particularly necessary under the current pandemic has highlighted one of the disadvantages. Another is that the use of cheap labour in poorer countries seems to have become a core strategic asset in global business operations. Globalization needs to be repurposed for the better.
Capitalism traditionally functions within a free market economy in which the product of labour is privately or corporately owned and the principle objective is to create economic value (profit) with which to continue functioning. Since these activities have a wide-reaching effect on employees, customers, suppliers of goods and services, the environment etc., it is now recognized that beyond maximising shareholder wealth, businesses also have a responsibility towards society. This social responsibility can be said to entail: economic responsibility (making a profit so the enterprise can stay in business); legal responsibility (obeying the law); ethical responsibility (doing what is right and fair); and philanthropic responsibility (being a good corporate citizen).
Globalization has enabled some countries to keep the cost of consumer goods down by outsourcing production either partially or completely to countries, mainly in Asia, where production costs are lower, largely owing to cheaper labour. Whether this is fair or not is a topic apart, but it has helped many poorer countries enter into the international trade system. However, when events like the current pandemic occur, the resulting disruptions in multinational supply chains lay bare the severe vulnerabilities in importing and exporting countries depending on international trade and transport.
THOSE WISHING TO JOIN US SHOULD RSVP AT UWCSTUDYGROUPS@GMAIL.COM. PARTICIPATION WILL BE LIMITED TO 25 MEMBERS.
Please read the following background material on which the discussion will be based:
UWC Discussion Group introductory text
Capitalism must reform to survive (Klaus Schwab - Foreign Affairs)
Why rigged capitalism is damaging liberal democracy (Martin Wolf – Financial Times)
Capitalism with a heart (Frank Wallem)
The Rise of Conscious Capitalism (Louis Gagnon)
Globalization after covid-19: my plans for a rewired planet (Dani Rodik – Prospect Magazine)
The Future is Public - 7 steps to build a democratic economy (The Future is Public Conference Report)
Can Capitalists Save Capitalism? (Thomas B. Edsall - The New York Times)
Economic instability, not inequality is what ails the 90% (Albena Asmanova - Financial Times)
Coordinated by: Phyllis Barrantes