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
american-activist bankers claims fact productive taking traders wealth
The fact is that these bankers and traders are taking claims of wealth out of the system; they are not doing any productive work.
democracy humans corporate
We can have democracy and a prosperous, just, and sustainable human future. Or we can have corporate rule. We cannot have both.
loser winner economy
So, there is enormous instability in the global economy with a shift of winners and losers.
years wages lasts
If you look at the US economy over the last 15-20 years wages have been stagnating or even declining.
strong rights fabric
Europeans say they are proud of their social fabric, of strong rights for workers and the weak in society.
principles economics economy
Our global economy is out of control and performing contrary to basic principles of market economics.
people creation economy
As an economy measures performance in terms of the creation of money, people become a major source of inefficiency.
america imagination people
It will take some time before a politician will capture the imagination of the American people and have the vision and understanding to do what is necessary for a better future for the people of America and the world.
kings luxury long
Entranced by promises of a material paradise of limitless luxury, humanity has too long ignored the mismatch between the imperatives of our existence as living beings on a finite planet and the imperatives of the institutions of money that chart our path to the future. Created to build colonial empires in service to kings, global corporations are ill suited to the task of building just, sustainable, and compassionate civil societies that nurture sufficiency, partnership, and respect for the whole of life.
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.
mean views tests
But we can also take the radical view that the test of an economy has to do with the extent to which it is providing everybody with a decent means of living.
democracy way communism
Capitalism has defeated communism. It is now well on its way to defeating democracy.
country communication organization
I am in favor of increased communication and cooperation between countries, but it is more important that each country becomes responsible for its own actions, its own communities, its own economies, before starting to integrate in large regional or global supranational organizations.
jobs lying growth
Moreover, statistics can be deceiving: the growth of jobs in the US in the 90s was due to many part-time jobs, with no benefits and generally low pay.