As I’ve written, Wall Street is in need of change. Business practices in general need a new outlook: one from an ethical and cultural standpoint. The world is changing and the foundations of business are being shaken. One large issue, among others, is the decided ignorance of the cultural and spiritual dimension, and not only in the short term for profits. Large firms and corporations must truly integrate other cultures’ ideas into their plans, as well as cater to their different needs. The goal in business now is unlimited growth. The world is seeing the very impossibility of such an idea right now. An organism cannot grow outside its own means without it dying. Businesses are now consuming the the means they live by if they prey on people. Greed is the goal for achieving growth, which is not sustainable.
At the Parliament Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 children from the favelas (slums) of Rio shared their stories of scrambling for food every day. One girl said how she had to steal food to share it with her younger brother. Not only is the system ignoring our children, the future, but they still have the kind heart to share the little they do have. Businesses have something to learn from the very people they benefit by exploiting: the children, the poor, the homeless. Greed only gets you so far. To really survive you must share and link what you have together. Then you can enjoy what you have for much longer and without the exploitation of so many. A cultural/ethical advisor to businesses could help shift the paradigm of business from one of greed toward one more sustainable, in line with the shifting views of the people of the 21st century.