Caring Capitalism – The New Imperative

Back in 2008 at a previous Davos meeting Bill Gates described his ideas for ‘creative capitalism’ – but as the banks and financial institutions have clearly shown us, capitalism by its very nature is driven to finding alternative approaches, so creativity is already implicit in the system. At worst it fosters greed and exploitation, but at its best it enables innovation and education. I favour the term 'caring capitalism', which requires a form of personal commitment to sharing and re-investment of both time and money. In essence, we have a 'duty of care' to our fellows and to the planet. Leaving it to Governments to express this duty of care is too politically open-ended, leaving it to Philanthropists absolves us personally. If we can direct our personal creativity towards a more balanced outcome, I too am optimistic that we can reduce the gaps between the haves and have-nots. 'Caring capitalism' is not an oxymoron - it is an imperative.