“Business has become the most powerful institution on the planet. The
dominant institution in any society needs to take responsibility for the whole.
Business, however, has not had such a tradition. This is a new role, not well
understood or accepted. Built on the concept of capitalism and free enterprise
from the beginning was the assumption that the actions of many units of
individual enterprise, responding to market forces and guided by the “invisible
10 hand” of Adam Smith, could somehow add up to desirable outcomes. However,
in the last decade of the twentieth century, it has become clear that the “invisible
hand” is faltering. It depends on the consensus of overarching meanings and
values that are no longer present. So business has to adapt a tradition it has
never been throughout the entire history of capitalism: to share responsibility for
the whole. Every decision that is made, every action that is taken must be
viewed in light of that responsibility.”

WILLIS HARMAN, cofounder of the World Business Academy