ABSTRACT
Faced with criticism of our development model and calls for its transformation, many economists agree, ironically, saying all this may be true, but what are you going to substitute for an economic system which is now known to be the most effective wealth creation system? This essay suggests that it is less an issue of changing the mechanisms of the system and risking losing its creativity than encouraging its leaders to look at aims as much as means. It is less an issue of transforming structures than changing the culture, and then the guidelines. Let’s reiterate—it’s a case of restoring the ethical and political dimensions 62to economic activity, which is the only way for business leaders to confront the complexity of reality. Let’s once and for all leave behind the narrow ideology of Milton Friedman who dared to claim that the only social responsibility of business is to maximise profit for shareholders . . . This short-sighted view profoundly influenced neoliberal thinking, and we must reject it.
