Article by Charles Handy exploring ways to improve capitalism in modern Western societies. Handy begins the article highlighting many of the drawbacks of capitalism and how the system has not enriched the lives of many while creating large gaps in wealth. He proceeds to note how the recent trend in ever-increasing privatization has created an environment of extremes, and argues that capitalism and the market have their limits as they are only mechanisms subject to the limitations of real life and not abstract philosophies. Handy goes on to draw a distinction between efficiency and effectiveness and how efficiency and self-interest are all too often permitted to flourish without any checks, cautioning that they should be joined in operation with sympathy. He concludes by stating that a decent capitalism will be properly selfish and properly concerned with survival and achievement, striving to be inner directed, alongside treating employees as individual human beings/assets rather than “human resources.” In order to accomplish this restructuring of the relationship between organization and employee, Handy recommends a rebalancing of power, so that those in control make commitments in order to win commitment. This can be achieved by employees having a say in the governance of the organization, rather than the organization simply being beholden to its shareholders.
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