While businesses are increasingly embracing the idea of "moral capitalism" and incorporating sustainability and social development within their operations, governments and policymakers remain far behind, a development seminar was told on Thursday.
Michael Sandel, a political philosopher at Harvard University, said the role of markets is still loosely defined even after economic crises, and that politicians are partly to blame for hesitating to bring moral and spiritual questions into public discussion due to a fear of disagreements in public. He was speaking at a development seminar yesterday. SOMCHAI POOMLARD
The idea that capitalism must incorporate ethics and morals is one that has gained ground in recent years, particularly as citizens rebel against the losses incurred from the 2008 global financial crisis.
Former Thai premier Anand Panyarachun said extreme capitalism has worsened inequality, with the globe's wealth and resources controlled by a minority of individuals and nations even as one-eighth of the world's population still suffers chronic hunger.
"There has been a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. It is becoming clear that the conceptional framework under sustainable development is still loosely defined," Mr Anand said in opening remarks at the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Development, a one-day conference hosted by the Caux Round Table, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Thailand Development Research Institute.
Economist Narongchai Akrasanee said that while corporate governance has improved in Thailand, the government has yet to adopt a clear and consistent approach towards promoting ethics.
Instead, decisions are made all too often for short-term gains at the cost of long-term benefits.
"So as Thailand moves towards a capitalist system, there has been an increase in consideration of the benefits towards all stakeholders in society. But on the other hand, governments are sometimes good and sometimes bad. This is because there is no proper punishment [of the government]," said Mr Narongchai, a member of the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee.
All over the world, political issues are more often the cause of problems rather than the solution, he said.
Michael Sandel, a political philosopher at Harvard University, said the role of markets is still loosely defined even after economic crises, and politicians are partly to blame for hesitating to bring moral and spiritual questions into public discussion due to a fear of public disputes.
"I think this is a mistake. To keep markets in their proper place and build what it needs to make a democratic system, more debate needs to be held to engage people more directly with big ethical questions, such as where markets serve the public good and where they are corrupted," he said.
"But it isn't easy, because the integration for this bigger kind of discussion will not come from established politicians and political parties."
The conference attracted more than 1,000 Thai and multinational business executives, development experts and representatives of civil society to debate development models, including the philosophy of sufficiency economics as championed by His Majesty the King.
Sufficiency economics aims to balance the drive for growth under capitalism with moderation and ethical behaviour.
Experts agreed that self-sufficiency helps organisations not only become more resilient but also increases performance compared with their peers. The global trend increasingly points towards sustainable practices.
Prof Gayle Avery, director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, urged firms to push governments to make sustainability the main development agenda.
"Corporations already form powerful lobby groups and make political donations to influence governments, so they should use this power and money to shape policy for a better world," said Prof Avery, who is also with the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Australia.