Moral Capitalism: Reconciling Private Interest with the Public Good

Front Cover
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003 M12 3 - 240 pages
The world is drifting without a clear plan for its economic development. Communism is dead, but in the wake of Enron and similar scandals, many see capitalism as amoral and too easily abused. A blueprint for progress is needed and Moral Capitalism provides one.
Moral Capitalism is based on principles developed by the Caux Round Table, an extraordinary international network of top business executives who believe that business can-and must-weigh both profit and principle. Caux Round Table's global chair, Stephen Young, argues that the ethical standards inherent in capitalism have been compromised by cultural values inimical to capitalism's essentially egalitarian, rational spirit, and distorted by the short-sighted dog-eat-dog doctrines of social Darwinism into what he calls brute capitalism. He demonstrates how the Caux Round Table's Seven General Principles for Business can serve as a blueprint for a new moral capitalism, and explores in detail how, if guided by these principles, capitalism is really the only system with the potential to reduce global poverty and tyranny and address the needs and aspirations of individuals, societies, and nations.
 

Contents

1 Is a Moral Capitalism Possible?
1
2 The Many Varieties of Capitalism
19
Survival of the Fittest
33
Using Private Interest for the Public Good
47
Must the Poor Be With Us Always?
61
Advocate for Moral Capitalism
77
The Moral Compass for Capitalism
93
Parts for a Machine or Moral Agents?
109
Repealing the Law of the Jungle
151
Enhancing Social Capital
167
Stepping up to the Challenge of Moral Capitalism
185
I
199
II
207
Notes
211
Index
219
About the Author
225

Exploiters or Potential Victims?
125
Friends or Foes?
141

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About the author (2003)

Stephen Young is the Global Executive Director of the Caux Round Table. He was formerly the third dean of the Hamline University School of Law, an assistant dean of Harvard Law School, and has worked with the Council on Foreign Relations and consulted to the United States Department of State.

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