June 27, 2008
Seeking Opinions: Is 'Creative Capitalism' Dangerous or Brilliant?
If you have an opinion about whether “creative capitalism” can save the world, the journalist Michael Kinsley would like to hear from you. Mr. Kinsley is looking for contributors to a book he is producing about the notion that capitalism can be reshaped to help lift people out of poverty.
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft who is stepping down today to work full time for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, floated the term “creative capitalism” last winter at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He argued that problems in the world’s poorest countries are too big to be solved by philanthropy. Capitalism must step in, he said, but at the moment it does much better at serving the needs of the prosperous than those of the poor.
“The notion that capitalism, which is all about self-interest, can be amended somehow to be more about helping others—and still be capitalist—struck many (me included, at least at first) as hopelessly Pollyannaish and a little bizarre,” Mr. Kinsley writes on The Huffington Post.
What’s wrong, he wonders, with Mr. Gates’s current approach — “make the money, then give it away”? Or with taxing wealth? And if corporations give money away or devote it to good works, aren’t they cheating their shareholders?
Mr. Kinsley said he would like contributors to his book to explore such questions and decide whether “creative capitalism” is “meaningless, dangerous, useless, maybe useful, very useful, or brilliant.”
He has also created a blog where people can debate the issue publicly.
Mr. Kinsley is married to Patty Stonesifer, the outgoing chief executive of the Gates Foundation, but the writer says neither Mr. Gates nor the foundation have anything officially to do with his book project (“unless you count glancing at printouts left by accident on the kitchen counter as ‘official’”).
Do you think “creative capitalism” can help the world’s poor? Click on the comment link below to share your thoughts. (A paid subscription and free registration are required to read the Chronicle article.)
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I do think that creative capitalism will lead the way towards fostering working economies in developing countries.
— Lara Sanders Jun 27, 05:15 PM #
I think Bill Gates might believe in the law of the universe, what you give comes back to you. Bill Gates also evidently aware that success and wealth can be measured in many ways. I would suggest that Mr Gates may be becoming more wealthy by the day, with all the good deeds his fine foundation is doing. Awesome leadership and a true social and community entrepreneur.
— Greg Tingle Jun 27, 07:13 PM #
No one in their right mind would complain about the massive contibution Mr. Gates makes everday in his pursuit to spread his incredible wealth to the more needy in society. When an iconic figure speaks in public, the content of what they have to say are given full scrutiny. I would suggest the concept of ‘Creative capitalism’, has been around in some form for many decades! Creative capitalism requires creative marketing and weak or corrupt political system in which to florish.
Two examples of creative capitalism are the introduction of Non-profit organizations’ and the current war in the middle East! What could such diverse topics share in common?.
1. Both are marketed as ‘for the greater good’.
2. Both create poverty traps by de-skilling the work force*.
3. Both costly, ultimately paid for by the tax-paying public for generations to come.
*De-skilling a work force is a political choice and follows a specific functional process. For example, in social care, lowering standards in expectations of employees(education/vocational qualifications – where some companies are happy to benefit from essential qualifications,vocational experience, dedication and infinate patience of it’s employees but pay only to attract the opposite}! This process errodes expectations and standards in service provision. Non-profit organizations, particularly those who practice in service provivision, have chosen a dangerous and difficult path. By compromising the standard or required educational and vocational experiece of it’s employees. Accepting lower sndards of care in service provision, to save a few bucks at employee expense will not resolve this fact.
This arguement equally applies to medical service providers. Dose your millitary wounded deserve the best care or not? Don’t skimp on service provision and social care – you have or are paying for it!
Seeing so many of America’s sons and daughters on the front line of a political war; then making them stay untill your political objectives are realized, in my humble opinion, places too little value on life.
The de-skilling process negitively impacts motivation and morale. By creating this ‘povert trap’ – low paid, part-time, poor benifits etc. Non-profit health care providers are not a solution to improved quality in social care, if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Working for a company in which employees earn just enough to live week-to-week but never enough to save or prepare for retirement, is demoralizing and often insulting.
Finally; YOU, the tax- payer, will receive the final multi-billion dollar price tag to be paid for over generations! Unfortunately, ‘creative capitalism’ as an idea may sound good, but with a right-win twist can lead to a very different reality.
Perhaps Bill Gates should call his plans or ideas what they are, a form of socialism. There, I said it, and the world did not come to an end. It’s not a dirty word but a philosophical and political ideal where concepts of justice and fairness prevail. My hope for this decent kid? I would like him to tackle the big question of ‘distribution of wealth’. How can so few own so much when there are so many without? :(
— bill flynn Jun 28, 04:29 PM #
I think that creative capitalism is a great idea. It is apparent that people’s giving is no where close to their spending. If a business or a nonprofit can find a way to use the success of a capital venture to benefit social good they can find a larger return on their investment.
I think there is going to be more and more of that kind of thing in the future.
— Jason Dick Jun 28, 06:19 PM #
There is no magic bullet. Capitalism creates winners and losers, and necessarily breeds inequality. It also depends on a source of cheap labor. Exporting U.S.-style capitalism will make life better for a relative few, and the same or worse for more; that’s how the code is written.
The nonprofits for which many of us work came into existence to correct for the market.
— Flaneuse in DC Jun 30, 09:47 AM #
A definition of terms would be helpful. If by “Creative Capitalism” you mean a form of capitalism which seeks increased profit for its investors as its major outcome, then I think, “No, you’ll only achieve more ways to exploit the poor.” If on the other hand you are referring to concepts laid out in Nobel winner, Dr. Mohammad Yunnus’ “Creating a
World without Poverty” I’d say, “Yes”. There, social development and sustainability are the criteria for success. This is true even though the structures and processes of capitalism are used. If “profit” is generated it goes into the community owned business or is used as capital for new low-income controlled or owned start-ups. In both models investors are repaid, but in the later, investors only get back what they’ve put in without financial increase. As Dr. Yunus illustrates this can work.
— R. White Jun 30, 02:42 PM #
Some reality (at least from my perspective).
1) Our world has no more powerful engine than “the market”.
2) Philanthropy cannot create selfless change. As a matter of fact, and irony, philanthropy is more “self-interested” amd less accountable, than is the market.
I have chosen to use the idea of a market as opposed to “capitalism” because I am not taking about any sort of “ism” religion. Market forces work AND market forces, in some cases, MUST be governed. That governing, is the realm of our world’s failed governments, and yes, I definitely would include the US Government in that characterization.
— Steve Wright Jun 30, 03:00 PM #
Creative Capitalism would be incredibly powerful if every transaction was informed by its real world impact. Consumers need convenient and customized access to detailed information about every purchase that they make in order to make sure that those purchases support their values.
I am the President of a new non-profit that has created tools to allow people to easily share information about the products that they buy. We ask that every review about a company be tagged to a particular interest (like energy efficiency, kosher practices, or community support) so that when people send our service a text message checking on whether a product supports their values we can send them a customized reply based on their “portfolio of interest”.
Buy It Like You Mean It is the name of our service. We are volunteer based, have lesson plans for teachers to spread the word about Creative Capitalism, and our service is now functioning. We are starting by researching the chocolate industry. So check us out and let us know what you think. http://www.bilumi.org
— Clay Ward Jun 30, 04:04 PM #