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A 'Gospel of Wealth' for the 21St Century

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A 'Gospel of Wealth' for the 21St Century opinion p15 Opinion John Fullerton been solved, and we still await shift to a regenerative economy that ‘Peace on earth, among men of delivers shared prosperity and respects A ‘Gospel of Good-Will’. the biophysical boundaries of the It is time to update the Gospel planet. With that purpose in mind, Wealth’ for the of Wealth, grounding it in 21st here are six suggested guiding century realities. Few today principles for the administration of 21 on either side of the political wealth in the st century: 21st century 1 spectrum would suggest we Set an example of unostentatious living that provides for your In his Gospel of Wealth, published in 1901, Andrew celebrate the ‘good news’ of our present-day grotesque and legitimate ‘modest’ wants Carnegie declares, ‘The amassing of wealth is one of and needs and those of your the worst species of idolatry.’ He states his position on growing wealth disparities. The ‘individualism’ Carnegie dependants. the ‘duty of the man of Wealth’ in no uncertain terms: 2 celebrated is increasingly at odds Understand the stakes. All ‘First, to set an example of modest, financial capital has impact, John Fullerton with the interdependence our is founder of the unostentatious living . and to systems thinkers understand. Yet whether philanthropic or Capital Institute and provide moderately for the legitimate invested for profit. It fuels the a former JP Morgan our institutions remain organized managing director. wants of those dependent upon him; around individual and national present unsustainable economic Email jfullerton@ after doing so to consider all surplus system and is the bridge to capitalinstitute.org interests, hampering our ability to revenues which come to him simply as tackle global, systemic challenges. the regenerative economy we trust funds, which he is called upon . desperately need. and strictly bound as a matter of duty At the same time, we are 3 Think in decades, not in years to administer in the manner which, beginning to acknowledge the and certainly not quarters. in his judgment, is best calculated to fundamental conflict between 4 Do not confuse the ability to produce the most beneficial results for our exponentially expanding amass financial wealth with the the community . .’ economic system and the wisdom to administer it for the geophysical boundaries of a finite No doubt Carnegie chose the word collective good. planet. Science tells us that this 5 ‘Gospel’,‘G which means ‘good news’, Learn to think holistically, growth trajectory is physically and study systems science. carefully, for the concluding words unsustainable unless we can of his essay suggest he believed Recognize we live in an era of decouple material throughput system shifting, not just problem he had discovered the antidote to from economic growth. poverty and overcome the ethical solving. The regeneration of challenges of the wealth gap all Despite our collective heightened natural systems – forests and in one stroke. Conveniently, the consciousness about the ecological grasslands in particular – must economic system was itself never and societal challenges we face, anchor this system shift. 6 called into question. the generous among us – and Dare to lead. View the immense there are many – by and large concentration of wealth and ‘The laws of accumulation will be continue to practise philanthropy power as an opportunity for left free; the laws of distribution free. the ‘Carnegie way’, although it has the kind of leadership our Individualism will continue, but the clearly failed to deliver the desired times demand. millionaire will be but a trustee for outcomes. While philanthropy Time is not on our side. A new Gospel the poor. Such, in my opinion, is is inherently personal, a more the true Gospel concerning Wealth, of Wealth demands a higher purpose systemic approach is called for to of capital to serve what Thomas obedience to which is destined some meet the systemic crises we face. day to solve the problem of the Rich and Berry calls the ‘Great Work’ of our the Poor, and to bring Peace on earth, How, then, should we rewrite pivotal time. As Berry reminds the Gospel of Wealth for the us, we are ‘thrown into existence 1 among men of Good-Will.’ The current 21st century? with a challenge and a role that geological age, Much has changed in a century. viewed as the Let us first rename it the ‘Universal is beyond any personal choice. period during Many of our captains of industry The nobility of our lives, however, which human seem less concerned about Purpose of Capital’, and declare activity has been that the purpose of capital as depends upon the manner in which the dominant ‘setting an example of modest, we come to understand and fulfill influence on unostentatious living’, the we enter the new era of the climate and the anthropocene1 is to catalyse a our assigned role.’ environment. ‘problem of Rich and Poor’ has not Alliance Volume 18 Number 2 June 2013 www.alliancemagazine.org.
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