The Capitalism Project

A follower of Jesus reflects on the 2009 World Economic Forum

By Mike Todd

Ordinarily this is an opportunity for the titans of capitalism to gather together for three days of self congratulation and mutual admiration.

But not this year.

Apparently the 2009 edition of the WEC took on more of the appearance of a twelve-step meeting.

“Hello, my name is Bob, and I’m a banker.”

“Hi Bob.”

Seriously, in meetings as diverse as the World Economic Forum, very little is generally arrived at in the form of consensus. And yet, at the close of the Forum this year two general questions were being asked:

1. What went wrong?
2. How did we miss the warning signs?
(In relation to the second question, it was significant that Nouriel Roubini was welcomed back with apologies, after being laughed out of town last year.

Again, in general, four conclusions arose from this year’s discussions:

1. We have had too much faith in the free market
2. We have had too much faith in economic models
3. Perhaps because of the two points above, there has been too little transparency
4. We have been operating without a moral compass.

(As a Follower of Jesus I was particularly struck by the last observation.)

Given this kind of self-reflection, perhaps we should not be surprised that a renewed interest was expressed in the issues of faith and philanthropy. Specifically, thoughtful delegates started to ask if capitalism could be injected with a social conscience, and a social mission. On the flip-side, consideration was given to the idea of philanthropy adopting the best practices of capitalism in order to broaden it’s reach and increase it’s effectiveness.

Truly, new and unique questions were being asked in Davos this year.

It was as if everything the world had believed was good, and proper, and normal, was gone. Perhaps this should not have come as a surprsise. As my favorite economist Bruce Cockburn likes to say, “The trouble with normal is it always gets worse.”

It seems as if the developed world has been suffering through an identity crisis.

“Who are we, and who do we want to become?”

What an opportunity to redefine ourselves, both individually and collectively! As President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, has said, you never want to waste a good crisis. It seems we will do things, we will make changes, that we would never find the courage to do under normal circumstances.

The world has been crying out for a new story; It has been begging for one. The world, in these moments of self-doubt and crisis, is ready to hear the story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But where is the church?

It seems to me that we have no consistent story to tell. We are busy arguing over the distinctives and dogma that divides us, rather than the commonalities that bind us together. And the opportunity passes us by.