Why capitalists must alter the way they do business
The transformation of white monopoly should bring the most disenfranchised into the economy via shared value, writes Lance Claasen
Capitalism needs an answer for poverty and inequality, because socialism has one. The problems facing SA are not unique. The rise of income inequality and its close friend poverty is a worldwide phenomenon. All too often business is regarded as part of the problem because its purpose is believed to be "Maximise shareholder value". This is short-term thinking, where profit is placed above all at the expense of communities, the environment, customers and, eventually, some businesses. This was evident in the financial crisis of 2008, the Winelands worker revolt of 2012 and all too graphically at a place called Marikana. These crises were not anomalies of the capitalist system. They were caused by a system that put profit above everything else. The effect on disempowered communities is that they can make rash decisions out of anger when they go to the polls — as happened in the UK and US, where they had a dramatic impact on the future of their nations. If not tackled, these issues will ...
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