Nicholas Elledge
Vice-President, E.L. Rothschild LLC
The Wolf of Inclusive Capitalism may never be a blockbuster, but the uphill journey that we face and on which we must embark will certainly lead to a better and more sustainable world for us and for our children.
Achieving inclusive capitalism is a balancing act between realism and idealism. One thing is plainly essential: the ability to respect, and empathize with, a diverse range of communities and individuals, regardless of gender, ethnicity, occupation, or wealth. As Bill Clinton said at the 2014 Conference on Inclusive Capitalism, we should be "ever expanding the definition of who is us and shrinking of the definition of who is them."
John Rawls famously articulated a vision of a fair society as one in which you would be comfortable being born randomly into any station. Today, there exist far too many stations without equal opportunity to succeed. If we were to apply this principle of fairness, we would no doubt ensure that everyone had the same opportunity to succeed, that the environment was protected, social safety nets ensured, taxation justly distributed, workers' rights safeguarded, and financial protections provided.
To make such a world a reality each one of us must explicitly recognize that we share responsibility for inclusive capitalism, never resorting to the dangerous phrase 'I don't know and I don't care'. This responsibility extends into our professional decision-making, our organizational cultures and our personal lives. It encompasses many things, but particularly the recognition that financial profits are not an end in themselves but only a means to a healthier and better world.