Conscious Capitalism

• "I never took a single business class. I actually think that has worked to my advantage in business over the years. As an entrepreneur, I had nothing to unlearn and new possibilities for innovation."
• It obviously worked very well for him. As consumers, we are constantly looking for something new and intuitive, something that they can't just teach you in school. Whole Foods is now considered the hip place to shop for groceries.
• "I had become a businessperson and a capitalist, and I had discovered that business and capitalism, while not perfect, were both fundamentally good and ethical."
• My dad, the uber-conservative, needs to see this. He'd never believe "one of them Austin hippies" would appreciate the capitalistic lifestyle. And frankly, as a by-product of my dad's ideology, I think it's rather surprising as well, considering his background.
• I really appreciated the story of Whole Foods' youth. Very neat.
• "Businesses galvanized by higher purposes that serve and align the interests of all their major stakeholders; businesses with conscious leaders who exist in service to the company's purpose, the people it touches, and the planet; and businesses with resilient, caring cultures that make working there a source of great joy and fulfillment" = Conscious Capitalism
• I can't wrap my head around this. Not necessarily the ideals, which are exactly that - ideals. Just that a majority of companies would adopt them.
• "In the long arc of history, no human creation has had a greater positive impact on more people more rapidly than free-enterprise capitalism. It is unquestionably the greatest system for innovation and social cooperation that has ever existed. This system has afforded billions of us the opportunity to join in the great enterprise of earning our sustenance and finding meaning by creating value for each other." BUT "Too much of the world still has not embraced the core principles of free-enterprise capitalism, and as a result, we are collectively far less prosperous and less fulfilled than we could be."
• I have never heard this theory before. That capitalism is the solution to poverty?
• Capitalism vs. socialism: capitalism always wins! Hooray!
• The facts that the authors display are very interesting and put the information into an interesting perspective.
• "Rather than being seen for what they really are - the heroes of the story - capitalism and business are all too frequently vilified as the bad guys and blamed for virtually everything our postmodern critics dislike about the world."
• This is typically the hippies' argument. Capitalism is always the cause of all the problems.
• The authors say that capitalism has brought us out of "extreme poverty," they didn't say that it made us all billionaires. People are just angry/jealous that they aren't one of the few that came out on top and need to find something to blame.
• "Capitalism is portrayed as exploiting workers, cheating consumers, causing inequality by benefiting the rich but not the poor, homogenizing society, fragmenting communities, and destroying the environment. Entrepreneurs and other businesspeople are accused of being motivated primarily by selfishness and greed." 
• Well, yeah. Not a whole bunch of companies are doing it because of a "desire and need to care for others and for ideals and causes that transcend one's self interest." Money lies at the core of absolutely everything.
• People create businesses to make money. People create good businesses by basing "on [their] ability to empathize with others and to care about their opinions," thus making a lot more money. Wal-Mart, for example, realized that consumers wanted cheaper items, so they provided a service for that. But their ultimate goal wasn't just so that we could all buy a $5 pair of pants - it was to rake in the dough.
• "Much of today's animosity toward capitalism stems from a misconception that we need to share all resources fairly and equitably. But the reality is that by artfully combining resources, labor, and innovation, wealth can be greatly expanded... The pie grows, and there is more for everyone."
• I like this.
• The ratio between CEO pay and average pay = Wow... I didn't realize the gap was so large.
• I guess my skepticism isn't unwarranted, considering most of the country feels similarly (according to stats presented).
• They have too much faith in humanity to think that we humans aren't "maximizers of economic self-interest to the exclusion of all else." Get real, guys. We've been raised to live by "survival of the fittest," and these days, fittest = richest.
• "But the true narrative is that by participating in business, they are creating prosperity and lifting people out of poverty."
• I was pro-capitalism before, and I'm even more so now!

Capitalism, Coffee

I enjoyed watching Living with Coffee. It was very interesting to put a face to the coffee I pick up on the way to class (almost) every day. And while I think it was good to really understand what goes into making this product, it more importantly pointed out that Free Trade only accounts for a small percentage of the coffee produced worldwide. I think that educating more coffee producers will help them understand not only that they deserve to be paid more, but how to make that happen.

I also enjoyed reading Conscious Capitalism. I completely agree that capitalism has been the greatest man-made invention in history in that free-enterprise capitalism is completely voluntary and creates prosperity, which does in effect make the world a better place. There is less world hunger, there are more girls getting an education, and building stable communities. However, I feel that Whole Foods is an exception to this rule. The truth is, more often than not businesses are only in it for self-serving, rather than community-serving, purposes. And while actions have been taking to adjust this behavior, both capitalists and governments have chosen to lay their loyalty with the self-serving few over the well-being of the many. I hope that other businesses can look to Whole Foods as a representative ambassador to free-enterprise capitalism.

Conscious Capitalism

Coffee

Living with Coffee was a good documentary in that it made the connection between buyer, seller and producer. Like China Blue, it put faces to those who produce our commodities. Even though I see their faces and see their labor, it is still hard for me to grasp that kind of lifestyle. It’s almost unimaginable. It’s important for people to care where their products come from. People should buy with a conscience as in buying fair trade coffee. Yet, it’s sad when the full truth about these programs and ideas are not revealed or are scams. It’s not that we should stop buying our products because that would be detrimental to individual producers, but we should vote with our money and buy from companies that actually practice fair trade and fair labor. This change would lessen the profits of those social unfriendly companies and hopefully change the way they do business.

Capitalism is good

I don’t completely agree with Mackney and Sisodia. Their point of view is very different from Robert Reich’s who has written many books on capitalism. Reich calls our modern day capitalism, supercapitalism. Yes, businesses are good and they have provided many opportunities and social advances for people. The authors mention how businesses need to be more moral and do business ethically and how there are many who do have act consciously. Yet, I don’t think the authors hold businesses accountable enough. They do not mention how businesses have contributed to the inequality in the US and other countries. They also do not mention the role of the stock markets and how many businesses are more concerned about returns rather than the social good.