The ideology of profit-centred, protectionist capitalism fails as a worldview to guide us through the twenty-first century. Our current economic system is not sustainable.
We need more mindful capitalism. We need a capitalism where we are responsible for the impact of our investments and the true costs of the things we acquire.
Futurist Barbara Hubbard surmised it best in Conscious Evolution, “If we do not recognize that every business, corporation, or enterprise is part of a whole system, and must take feedback from the whole system, and be accountable for its effect on the environment, we cannot continue to evolve, or even survive.”[i]
This responsibility to the whole system is equally important for the customers and other stakeholders of these businesses, corporations, and enterprises—as they, too, need to recognize their place in the whole system, if we are to co-create a sustainable economic system. As Hubbard wrote, “The goal is a sustainable, regenerative economy that supports restoration of the environment, preservation of species, and the enhancement of human creativity and community, including expanded ownership, network marketing, community-based currencies, microcredit loans, and other such innovations.”[ii] Reaching these economic goals requires grassroots leaders, like you.
Before any improvement can be made in the way the world operates, an idea has to be formed and someone has to imagine how that idea could change things. If you imagine a different kind of market society and a different way of valuing the world, understand you have the opportunity to create it. You have the power and ability to create your own economy and your own system for doing business. What I mean is, you have the power to create your own means for exchanging and valuing your products and services. You have the power to decide what the current of exchange feels like in your business. The type of economy and market you inhabit, as a customer and as a business, is yours to define and to choose. You have a choice in whom you do business with, and how.
If you see pricing and value as a place of reform, paying what it’s worth may be part of your new world portfolio. Paying what it’s worth is a socially empowered method of valuing goods and services. With this pricing system, the buyer pays what they feel the product is worth, based upon the value they receive, and the seller receives a fair price for the value they provide. Through the simple act of creating a non-zero-sum scenario in your economic exchanges, you are creating collective social action in support of a sustainable, regenerative economy.
In being clear in your intentions and what you value, and acting on them, you’re harnessing your power and ability to create a values-driven and integrity-filled world for your business. And in allowing your values to drive your decisions, you’re creating and supporting a sustainable system for valuing the world. You’ve co-created an economy of integrity; a wealth creation strategy comprised of investing in the long-term growth of not only your business but all its stakeholders. In doing this, you’re helping your stakeholders release their fear of lack and destruction, and you’re stimulating their responsibility towards generosity. Together, you, your business, and its stakeholders take on a more mature role as co-creators and mindful capitalists.
[i] Hubbard, B. (2015). Conscious evolution: Awakening the power of our social potential (2nd ed., p. 91). Novato, CA: New World Library.
[ii] Hubbard, B. (2015). Conscious evolution: Awakening the power of our social potential (2nd ed., p. 101). Novato, CA: New World Library.
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