The stakes are extremely high!

The stakes are extremely high!

Never has our « Earth » capital been so threatened, never has financial capital been so abundant. Never before this year have we spoken so much about « responsible capitalism »!

The concept, it is true, was still an oxymoron in January 2017 when we launched the Institut du Capitalisme Responsable. Today, we can legitimately believe – as we announced at the institute’s launch party on January 27th, 2017 – that this dynamic will become a given in the next few years and, why not, the norm in the medium term.

The stakes are extremely high!

Europe must propose a model, namely a responsible capitalism, alongside two other powerful models; the state capitalism practised by China and the financial capitalism advocated by the United States. We can only believe in its future and that is why our debates on « responsibility » are so important. Europe has lost several battles – in particular that of accounting standards, stock market indexes and rating agencies – by subscribing to the Anglo-Saxon model. But a new battle must be fought. It is not too late to defend another model of governance distinct from the two dominant capitalisms. Otherwise, we risk losing our humanist DNA, with no possibility of turning back the clock.

At the Institut, we consider that we are all responsible, all of us!

This is the ICR’s conviction. We, citizens, consumers, savers, pensioners, employees, organizations … alongside investors, public authorities and companies, of course. It is up to civil society to decide on the model of capitalism that suits it, to refuse to be subjected to it.

Everyone must play his or her part – responsibility, values, meaning, action – and become aware of it in order to promote « our » model.

As the year draws to an end, we are calling for mobilization and action… Everyone, let’s become aware of both what is at stake and our power. Let us commit ourselves, through our ideas and our behaviour, to responsible capitalism!

Thanking – sincerely and very warmly – all those who are committed to the Institut, we wish you a beautiful and sweet holiday season.

Caroline de La Marnierre
Chief Executive and Founder at the Institut du Capitalisme Responsable