Redefining Capitalism: an Ethical Rating and its Contribution To Development

Read the beginning of the text

Today’s world is a world of increasing differences. There are objections to the previous statement, but the World Bank’s figures are self-explanatory. They point to a scenario whereby extreme poverty of the world’s poorest would have dramatically increased in the past 20 years in Sub-Saharan Africa, whereas South and East Asia have benefited from the phenomenal growth of China and India.

There is overconfidence and a lack of realism in the first world as to how to tackle the situation that worsens day by day. Many individuals in the rich world, who are not directly involved with the difficulties faced by emerging economies, do not realize the depth and severity of the problems the poor encounter, or the degree to which the latter affect the daily lives of millions of people.

No easy solution seems feasible or applicable. There have been, and there are interesting initiatives that, provided their success, could bring first and third world closer together in terms of income, growth opportunities and share of the pie. However although apparently straightforward, these proposals remain simplistic and hard to implement within the present regulatory framework, even if this may be possible on the long run. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that the individual is greedy by definition.

Download the essay