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Authentic Capitalism

Written by: Neil Crofts

Article Overview: There is a lot right with business as well as a lot wrong. Lets focus on expanding the good stuff and learning from the rest.

Authentic Capitalism

In spite of the current melt down and the views of some capitalism is not a fundamentally bad system for managing the distribution of wealth in society.

Capitalism has some tremendous strengths; the way that it can reward creativity and hard work, the way that resources can be made a available to promising ideas and in the way that the market defines demand.

It also has weaknesses in that rewards can be completely disproportionate and that the market can demand products that are destructive.

However the fundamental challenge with capitalism that I would like to address here is the fine distinction between gambling and investment and it’s very human counterpart the distinction between passion and addiction.

Of course at the more polarized ends of the spectra it is easy to distinguish between gambling and investment and between passion and addiction. The challenge is to make the distinction in the blurry area in the middle where it is more difficult to tell.

Being able to make that distinction is important.

Money is a human invention which we use to facilitate the transfer of energy. While money is used for fairly transferring energy it is healthy and energising for those involved.

As soon as money is used for gambling or exploitation it is corrosive and harmful to all involved. It is just as harmful to the gambler or the exploiter as it is to the more obvious victims.

Investment contributes energy for the development of greater value and implies a level of care for the process. Gambling simply bets on one, possibly negative, outcome over another and cares only for the result.

The distinction between passion and addiction is that passion leads to growth, learning and wellbeing. Whereas addiction leads to contraction, narrowing and dis-ease.

Some businesses operate on the basis of addiction and gambling. Providing addictive thrills and rewards for their staff while using their resources to gamble for greater returns to feed the addiction. These practices although they might appear successful for some time are ultimately destructive.

This is where authentic businesses show us the way. The success of authentic business is based on the energising foundation of passion and that leads to growth and sustainable success.

If we can take the opportunity of this economic crisis to learn and make the distinction between passion and addiction, between investment and gambling, we will be taking a step towards sustainably profitable businesses and a more sustainable society.

When a business is driven by the passions of it’s people it becomes an authentic business and can enjoy the benefits of high levels of motivation and engagement from staff and customers.

Neil Crofts

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Article Tags: addiction, bets, capitalism, contraction, creativity, distinction, distribution of wealth, exploiter, fundamental challenge, gambler, human counterpart, human invention, money, negative outcome, passion, promising ideas, rewards, spectra, spite, wellbeing



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