Inclusive Capitalism

In May, 2014 , Prince Charles said in a speech at the Inclusive Capitalism conference:

"We can choose to act now before it is finally too late, using all of the power and influence that each of you can bring to bear to create an inclusive, sustainable and resilient society”. 
 
The Prince was addressing an audience of 200 business leaders including Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and chief executives of multinational companies such as UBS, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever. 

Here are more quotes from the article appearing in the UK's Telegraph newspaper.

“I remember when the Iron Curtain came down there was a certain amount of shouting about the triumph of capitalism over communism. Being somewhat contrary, I didn't think it was quite as simple as that. I felt that unless the business world considered the social, community and environmental dimensions, we might end up coming full circle.” 

He called on businesses to focus on the long-term and make “an authentic moral commitment to acting as true custodians of the Earth and architects of the well-being of current and future generations”. 

“It is only by adopting a broader sense of value that our finances will be sustained and we can find new sources of profit,” he said. 

The Prince suggested that companies must do more to put “young people properly at the heart of companies' employment practices and planning strategies, in order to tackle more effectively the world's growing youth unemployment crisis”. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/10859230/Prince-Charles-reform-capitalism-to-save-the-planet.html 

Ed Miliband, UK's Labour leader, has also called for “responsible capitalism”. 

Newly Elected Premier of Ontario

This past week Kathleen Wynne was voted the first woman, and openly gay leader of the fair province of Ontario.

Taking from Occupy messages she said she is committed to creating an Ontario that works for everyone.  We probably haven't had that spirit here since the European settlers arrived.

When Occupy started there was talk of 'the 99%'.  This message was something the media could get their teeth into.  The message successfully changed the worldwide conversation on mainstream media and strongly influenced the agenda at the annual Davos Summit.  All with very little budget.  That was impressive.

Then Occupiers talked about 'a society that worked for everyone - 100%'.

Interestingly it was about that time that national leaders called the various Occupy groups terrorist organizations.

Now we have seen an acceptance speech where a major politician adopts the same, later, more refined message. It is an approach towards working smarter.  It has a stabilizing influence on society.  It is an enlightened approach that encourages greater participation in the social sphere.

We can recall how things progressed over the last forty years.  Conscientious citizens became known as engaged citizens that in turn became known as peaceful activists, only to be more recently branded as threats to security.  People who want to build a world that works for everyone were and probably never will be a threat.  Now again it is something to celebrate and be open about.

We must cherish her commitment.  It shows true leadership when we need it.