Quote:
Originally Posted by qed 
Btw, if you think capitalism is working, I urge you to try to start a company to do good in the world. See how many VCs, banks or other individuals who might be capable of funding your project are interested in the philanthropic aspect of your business plan..  |
qed,
You are missing my point. The philanthropy I was referencing is the direct result of corporate profit. Gates and Buffett would not have been able to do what they are doing without corporate growth. You said,
"Philanthropy is a human activity. It would exist whether corporations exist or not." But where would the money come from? I hope that we can continue to help one another on an individual level, but billions of dollars directed to global issues by heads of corporations is much more powerful and sorely needed.
I'm quite aware of corporate greed and disregard for society, but I am also aware that there are a growing list of corporations who genuinely care about their impact on the world. I am pointing out the good for a reason. Those corporations should be focussed on because we want more of them.
Corporations are made up of people, and people are a mixed bag. As a species we are still pretty undeveloped compared to the potential we have. To reach that potential we have go down the time line. Capitalism is a more abundant and freer expression of human nature than any other system I can think of. We will reach our potential if we are free to build, develop, interact globally, and learn as we go. Naive? perhaps, but I think my optimism is justified.
A major point of Steve's article is to encourage creating real value for the right reasons in the quest for income. That happens on a large corporate scale as well as on the individual level. It's easy to see what's going wrong and get caught in negative thinking. I feel it's more important to empower what is going right.
Cheers,
John
Paintings of British Columbia - John Rocheleau