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We released our report in April 2018. I think it came at just the right time.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, a question has been in the minds of many
people, including many young people: What is the purpose of capitalism? There
have been many debates about this in France, not just in parliament, and the
debates were becoming bitter, because the answer was not clear.
If there is a continent where the search for an answer is particularly intensive
right now, and where it makes sense to find an answer, that’s Europe.
S+B: Why Europe, and why now?
SENARD: Because there are two forms of capitalism fighting each other in Eu-
rope right now, and neither of them exactly fits the European culture. The first is
the Anglo-Saxon tenet of fiduciary
duty, particularly prominent in the
United States; it says that the purpose
of a company is mainly profit, immedi-
ate profit, the strongest possible profit,
and that’s it. According to this perspec-
tive, the rest of societal value is not a matter for the corporation — maybe the
state or the community, but not the corporation.
This view has shaped how many companies operate, and as a result, busi-
nesses have not done what they need to do to help people absorb the impact of
globalization. Many people have been left behind. Business leaders have acted as
though this is not their problem, which is nonsense.
“There are two forms of
capitalism fighting each
other in Europe right now.”