Читать книгу The Unintended Consequences of Technology - Chris Ategeka - Страница 25

The COVID-19 pandemic has given us an opportunity to pause and think about the systems we want moving forward. Big ships are not easy to turn, but they are not impossible to turn either. We need to create a version of capitalism that focuses on the longer term and on the common good. That's why now is the right time to come up with innovative ideas.

Myspace and Kodak both failed to adapt to the technological changes of their time and were replaced by superior products. We as a human species need to adapt or else we will soon be a Myspace.

We can create better systems if we have the will. For example, Walmart saved a billion dollars in fuel costs by increasing the efficiency of their trucking fleet. Elon Musk revolutionized the automotive industry by focusing on clean driving solutions. It can be done! We have seen some movement in the industry by top influential CEOs.

Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff says, “Capitalism as we know it is dead. The current system has led to profound inequality. To fix it, we need businesses and executives to value purpose alongside profit” (Benioff, 2019).

Stakeholder purpose is becoming as important as shareholder value for many businesses. Inclusion and diversity are hot topics and recognized as levers that drive value both monetarily and in building a stronger, more sustainable future. If we are to have any humanity left on the planet, we must build a better economic system than we have today. Sustainable capitalism can only be achieved through balance and harmony among the individual, social, planet, and ethical dimensions of reality.

In 2020, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said, “It's time to reinvent capitalism post-Coronavirus. Big problems don't rest on the shoulders of government or corporations alone. I think the growing interest in stakeholder capitalism stems from companies genuinely invested in doing good for our world, because it's the right thing to do and because businesses who take this approach are stronger” (Eben, 2020).

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater, the world's biggest hedge fund, and a man worth about $20 billion according to Forbes, became the latest in a bank of billionaires to go public about his fears of widening income inequality (Dalio, 2021).