Capitalism's Fatal Flaw, and the Way Forward: Business Roundtable and ‘Stakeholder Equity’.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Business Roundtable and ‘Stakeholder Equity’.

Business Roundtable and ‘Stakeholder Equity’.

Dear Reader,

The Business Roundtable, on August 19th, 2019, issued a substantially revised “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation”, which they characterized as follows -- “Updated Statement Moves Away from Shareholder Primacy, Includes Commitment to All Stakeholders.” [emphases added by M.D.].

Their Press release opens with the following preamble -- “Business Roundtable today announced the release of a new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation signed by 181 CEOs who commit to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders.” [emphasis added by M.D.].

“Since 1978, Business Roundtable has periodically issued Principles of Corporate Governance. Each version of the document issued since 1997 has endorsed principles of shareholder primacy – that corporations exist principally to serve shareholders. With today’s announcement, the new Statement supersedes previous statements and outlines a modern standard for corporate responsibility.” [emphases added by M.D.].

The Statement asserts corporate commitments to each of five “stakeholder” categories: customers, employees, suppliers, communities, & stockholders --

“While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders. We commit to:

· Delivering value to our customers. ... .

Investing in our employees. This starts with compensating them fairly and providing important benefits. It also includes supporting them through training and education that help develop new skills for a rapidly changing world. We foster diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.

Dealing fairly and ethically with our suppliers. ... .

Supporting the communities in which we work. We respect the people in our communities and protect the environment by embracing sustainable practices across our businesses.

· Generating long-term value for shareholders, who provide the capital that allows companies to invest, grow and innovate. We are committed to transparency and effective engagement with shareholders.

Each of our stakeholders is essential. We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country.” [emphases added].

While this statement, which lacks virtually all juridical enforceability, may amount to little more than lip service to delivering “value” to “all” five stakeholder categories, the fact that this prominent organization of the U. S. capitalist upper ruling class bothered to publish this statement at all signals, we believe, a collective psychohistorical “sea change” among the American people -- a sea change which this capitalist ideology-engineering organ has detected, and hopes, including via this statement, to “get out in front of”.

For their full official statement on this re-conceptualization, see --

https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans

https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/ourcommitment/

We of F.E.D. have recently compiled what we hope will serve as far more than mere “lip service” toward full elaboration of a concept of ‘‘‘socialist’’’ ‘‘‘STAKEHOLDER DEMOCRACY’’’, available via the following internet locations --

https://capitalismsfundamentalflaw-wayforward.blogspot.com/2019/08/equitism-discovery-part-11-equitism.html

http://www.creativecoherence.co/2019/09/24/equitism-slide-presentation/

For more about ‘‘‘STAKEHOLDER DEMOCRACY’’’ as ‘‘‘successor system’’’ to the present [state-]capitalist system, please see --

http://www.creativecoherence.co/2019/08/08/equitism-summary-presentation-video/ .

For more information regarding these Seldonian insights, please see --

www.dialectics.info

For partially pictographical, ‘poster-ized’ visualizations of many of these Seldonian insights -- specimens of ‘dialectical art’ -- see:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DialecticsMATH?ref=search_shop_redirect

¡ENJOY!

Regards,

Miguel Detonacciones,