David Korten
David Korten
David C. Kortenis an American author, former professor of the Harvard Business School, political activist, prominent critic of corporate globalization, and "by training and inclination a student of psychology and behavioral systems". His best-known publication is, When Corporations Rule the World. In 2011, he was named an Utne Reader visionary...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
CountryUnited States of America
David Korten quotes about
people creation economy
As an economy measures performance in terms of the creation of money, people become a major source of inefficiency.
zero taken ecosystems
To achieve true sustainability, we must reduce our "garbage index" - that which we permanently throw away into the environment that will not be naturally recycled for reuse - to near zero. Productive activities must be organized as closed systems. Minerals and other nonbiodegradable resources, once taken from the ground, must become a part of society's permanent capital stock and be recycled in perpetuity. Organic materials may be disposed into the natural ecosystems, but only in ways that assure that they are absorbed back into the natural production system.
interesting people notes
It is interesting to note that the 200 richest people have more assets than the 2 billion poorest.
country cooperation scandinavia
More humane societies are usually smaller, like the Scandinavian countries and Holland, where it is much easier to reach consensus and cooperation.
rights giving world
In a world of increasing inequality, the legitimacy of institutions that give precedence to the property rights of 'the Haves' over the human rights of 'the Have Nots' is inevitably called into serious question.
moving europe currency
We should be moving toward local currencies not global or European currencies.
party thinking skills
I think one of the most important skills of a local organizer of a local economy is an ability to put on a terrific street party.
responsibility people use
Our defining gift as humans is our power to choose, including our power to choose our collective future. It is a gift that comes with a corresponding moral responsibility to use that power in ways that work to the benefit of all people and the whole of life.
years looks debt
If you look internationally over the last 50 years there have been improvements in the third world, but in the last 20 years the reverse has happened, with debt crises and increased poverty.
enemy democracy capitalism
Capitalism and the market are presented as synonymous, but they are not. Capitalism is both the enemy of the market and democracy.
wall needs fabric
Wall Street sees a social fabric or social contract as inefficiencies, which need to be removed.
money mechanism
Money is a mechanism for control.
practice long rogues
As long as you have a system that is based on the rational that if you are making money you are thereby making a contribution to society, these financial rogue practices will continue.
community needs levels
The current system is organized around financial values over life values. We need to shift that locus of power down to the community level because the financial markets recognize only money and thereby only financial values.