Comments on: B’corps, SAGP, Capital Altruiste and committed for-profits

By: Thierry

Thierry — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:49:22 +0000

I mean 2 things:

- solidarity with “traditional” methods is too weak to change the world. Solidarity has been existing since the world exists and, today, capital effects beat solidarity. “Good will” is mandatory, but a characteristic of modern world is that it is not enough anymore.

- I am not able to decide who is a Saint or a Tartuffe - nor can anybody. As entities, private ventures, in a liberal economy, generally behave as Tartuffes (see http://thierry-klein.speechi.net/2008/05/13/supercapitalisme/). Individually, the situation is probably more complex than this as most of us, under different conditions, can act as both. In a sense, I would say that it should actually not matter so much why we do it, as long as we actually do it. The effects are more important than the moral motivations and altruistic capital gives a quantitative evaluation of the effects and of the commitment: the percentage of capital given.

By: Sig

Sig — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:55:44 +0000

Thierry, glad to hear that you are not as pessimistic as you wrote. Unfortunately, your last paragraphs in that article first suggested to me that, in your eyes, many entrepreneurs in movements similar to the Economy of Communion are hypocrites (tartuffes). I thought this because they don't look like saints when you meet them ! ;) I admit I probably over-interpreted what you wrote there. I think that drawing the line between idealism (wannabe social heroes) and self-deception (or self-indulgence) is sometimes hard. It may be all about generating real income in a ethically correct way and significantly getting into the sharing/donating dance. As an optimistic person about human nature, I suspect that there are more self-decepted or self-indulgent entrepreneurs in this crowd than hypocrites tartuffes. I will let others count the saint ones. :)

By: Thierry

Thierry — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:32:55 +0000

This is a remarkable summary of what Capital Altruiste is - maybe even more easier to read than my original posts.

Please note that I don’t think - nor wrote - that “social entrepreneurs are fools” or that “social ventures are doomed to failure or eternal non-growth because they unrealistically rely on the good will of some social dreamer“.

You can find a more detailed comparison between “Capital Altruiste” and “Social ventures” ways of action here (in french): http://thierry-klein.speechi.net/2008/04/30/les-points-communs-et-les-differences-entre-le-capital-altruiste-et-lentreprenariat-social-de-mohammed-yunus/