Capitalism is a popular topic in the media right now. The anti-business media narrative continues to grow and, judging by my friend’s Facebook statuses, people are becoming more and more fired up.

There’s good reason for this. The rich continue to get richer and large corporations continue to increase their powerful grip over governments and policy, while acting against the public interest. By dehumanizing the workforce, their customers, communities,  and showing a complete disregard for the planet we share, businesses are giving more of a reason for people to seriously question whether they wish to continue being part of a capitalist society.

I’m not so sure though that capitalism itself is the root of these problems. Don’t get me wrong, these issues are serious and things need to change. The current narrative of capitalism being to blame doesn’t hold quite true. When you look around there are countless examples of businesses working hard within the existing framework to make money AND improve the world around them. Movements like Conscious Capitalism are working to spread the message that business done in the right way can be the driving force propelling us to a better future for all.

 

Is capitalism a perfect system? Of course not. Do we have a better one? I don’t think so. My gut tells me that revolution is not the answer. There are many varieties of capitalism and surely our version can be tweaked and improved upon to better meet our needs. It is absolutely true that too many businesses have operated with no regard for their real impact on the world, with a sole focus on profits. Inequality is also getting out of hand. Oxfam say a bus with the eighty-five richest people in the world on it would contain more wealth than the collective assets of half the earth’s population. This is ludicrous and shouldn’t be able to happen.

I believe that we can use (and tweak) the existing framework to encourage and enable businesses to operate with society and the future in mind. To act with a conscience. It seems to me that we can achieve extraordinary things by simply changing our mindset just a little.

That’s what I’m working on at Caffe Centro. We’re improving how we operate so that the business makes money at the same time as benefitting our employees, supplier, local community, and minimizing our negative impact on the planet. It’s one step at a time and we have a very long way to go but it’s a start!