On Capitalism for the Future:

Joel Rosenthal, President of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, speaks to Force for Good about American Oligarchs and the uber capitalism that is reshaping the boundaries of power and responsibility

“Very similar to the world of 1914. You have this rise of nationalism … global scale problems requiring international cooperation. Where’s the politics going? Exactly the other way.

The thing I’ve been thinking about most recently is what I will call the Western oligarchs, or the American oligarchs … with a sort of uber capitalism … where the aggregation of resources is so great that they somehow exceed the state … Many of the Western oligarchs have this obsession with outer space … symbolic in a way of this boundless or frontier-less kind of approach.

… the discovery of DNA and the ability to manipulate life, whether it’s plants or animals or human beings. I think we’re just now becoming aware of this power to literally remake life on earth.

I think this should be a proactive moment, whether it’s about climate, poverty, inclusion. The opportunities are there, the capital is there. It’s just a question now of leadership and the will to move.”

Joel H Rosenthal
President, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs

Speaks on:

• The forces changing the world order
• Parallels from the pre-World War era
• Capitalists bigger than states, and parallels to the Imperial age
• Uber capitalists, capitalism unbounded too
• Age of rights not responsibilities
• Capitalism in the time of ethno-nationalism
• Saving Capitalism and a New (Old) Deal for our Times
• The power and strength, and challenges, of America’s systems versus China

…and much more

Brief Profile:

Joel H. Rosenthal is president of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. As leader, scholar, and teacher he works to empower ethical action, with a particular focus on U.S. foreign policy, issues of war and peace, human rights, and pluralism. At Carnegie Council, Rosenthal leads a team that identifies critical ethical issues, convenes experts, and produces agenda-setting resources to educate and activate communities globally.

The Carnegie Council

Mission: To empower ethics by identifying and addressing the most critical ethical issues of today and tomorrow.

Today, the world faces unprecedented upheaval as countries retreat from multilateralism, embrace nationalism, attack democratic norms, and grapple with the impact of emerging technologies on society. Carnegie Council serves as the most trusted and nonpartisan advocate for ethical solutions to the most critical issues of the day. Carnegie Council was founded in New York City in 1914, when Andrew Carnegie assembled a group of leaders in religion, academia, and politics and appointed them trustees of an organization named the Church Peace Union (CPU). Carnegie’s hope was to make war obsolete. For more information see: https://www.carnegiecouncil.org.

Force for Good is a for impact platform dedicated to influencing the development of capitalism for a secure, sustainable and superior future through the deployment of capital to solutions to address major issues and opportunities. The latest ‘Capital as a Force for Good’ report, published September 2022, was produced in Support of the UN Secretary General’s Strategy and Roadmap for Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For more information see: https://www.forcegood.org.