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January 31, 2008

Opinion: Corporate Goals Could Shift to Solve Social Problems

“Every few decades, America’s business leaders change their minds about what obligations corporations and the wealthy have to society,” writes David Callahan, an author and a senior fellow at Demos, in an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times. “Now, corporate leaders are shifting their thinking once more, calling for a gentler form of capitalism.”

Mr. Callahan cites comments from Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and H. Lee Scott Jr., chief executive of Wal-Mart, at the recent World Economic Forum as evidence that capitalists are becoming more socially conscious.

Mr. Gates called for a new “creative capitalism” that would help solve the world’s ills while also turning a profit, and Mr. Scott said his company will promote energy-efficient products and will improve labor conditions for its workforce.

“A sea change like this among the far-upper class doesn’t happen often,” Mr. Callahan writes. “If the consensus in the executive suites is that economic inequality has risen too much, or that too many social needs like health care are going unmet, or that the polar ice caps might really melt, the next president and Congress will have more success tackling these problems. It is far easier to get things done in Washington when Wall Street isn’t digging in its heels.”

For more on Mr. Gates’s comments at the meeting, read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s coverage.

(Free registration is required to view the Los Angeles Times article.)

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