In the long slow recovery from the global credit crunch, a real concern for many of us is that changes in business behaviour will not endure and our economy will simply slide back into bad old ways. Guess what, before too long, we will back where we were. There are cynical voices out there who want us to shrug our shoulders, put it all down to bad luck - you win some, you lose some – and go back to doing what we were doing.
If this happens, a brilliant opportunity will be missed to ask difficult questions about the way we did business to get us into this mess. The poor paid the heaviest price, but economic failure was not even in the self-interests of most of the rich and powerful. There has never been a better time to inject fresh thinking and develop next generation economics with behaviours more suited to a modern global, networked society. It is nothing short of ridiculous to believe the current way is the only way, that we learn nothing and one day it will inevitably happen again. This is the perfect moment to propose new moral and ethical underpinnings to heal our broken economy.
In her new book with an eye catching title*, Eve Poole does just that and gets straight to the heart of the matter. She sets out a prospectus to release our society from the grip of 19th and 20th century economists. She encourages 21st century consumers to wise up and rise up, get a grip and use their power in the marketplace to insist on a more ethical and just system, one that avoids the failings of the past and works instead for empowered and informed citizens in a fairer and, this is most important, a more vigorous economy that works for capitalism and society.
Eve makes her case using a thought-provoking analysis of seven toxic assumptions about capitalism: she challenges the accepted wisdom on competition, market forces, pricing, shareholder value and the over reliance on a single limited liability model. As an illustration, she questions the exclusive focus on competition, that even punishes collaboration as collusion, and argues it makes no sense to be secretive and competitive above all else when there are so many examples of human success where the most effective answer is to collaborate, to build and maintain strong bonds and partnerships.
Eve demonstrates that creation of a more ethical capitalism ultimately lies not only in ‘trailblazers’ who lead their business by living these new behaviours and embracing alternative business models, but also in our own hands as individuals and the financial and purchasing choices we make. The reform of capitalism into a more ethical and just system is not for an ‘invisible hand’ of experts to determine, but for us at an individual level. We need to be better informed about the economic agenda and ask ourselves some basic questions when we make our daily choices: who do we trust with our money, who do we choose to shop with, how well do we support local businesses? The choice is ours.
Téléchargez l'application Kindle gratuite et commencez à lire des livres Kindle instantanément sur votre smartphone, tablette ou ordinateur - aucun appareil Kindle n'est requis.
Lisez instantanément sur votre navigateur avec Kindle pour le Web.
Utilisation de l'appareil photo de votre téléphone portable - scannez le code ci-dessous et téléchargez l'application Kindle.
Une erreur est survenue. Veuillez renouveler votre requête plus tard.
À propos de l'auteur
Suivez les auteurs pour obtenir de nouvelles mises à jour et des recommandations améliorées.
Meilleurs commentaires provenant d’autres pays
Mike Burke
Really incisive analysis - a book whose time has come
Commenté au Royaume-Uni le 24 mars 2023