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Why do we pretend Supreme Court justices are anything but political officials?

Eric Segall, Georgia State University The late Justice Antonin Scalia believed that the federal Constitution allows states to ban abortion, to prohibit consensual sex between two adults in the privacy of their home as well as same-sex marriage, to keep a prestigious state-funded military college all male and to start official legislative sessions (and high … Continue reading Why do we pretend Supreme Court justices are anything but political officials?

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Why presidential debates need real-time fact-checking

Ryan J. Thomas, University of Missouri-Columbia In a 2012 column, former New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane asked his readers if the Times should be a “truth vigilante.” Clumsily worded and unnecessarily dramatic, Brisbane’s question pertained to something simpler: whether Times reporters should fact-check assertions made by subjects and sources in the text of … Continue reading Why presidential debates need real-time fact-checking

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Needed: A New Set of Income Tax Brackets [A Response to the “$250,000 a Year Is Not Middle Class” Op-Ed by Bryce Covert]

by Philip Kotler Hillary Clinton’s stated recently that she will not raise taxes on the middle class. She will raise taxes only on the rich and super rich. But at what income does the middle class end and the rich begin? Hillary defined the rich as starting with incomes over $250,000. Bryce Covert, in an … Continue reading Needed: A New Set of Income Tax Brackets [A Response to the “$250,000 a Year Is Not Middle Class” Op-Ed by Bryce Covert]

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Bernie Sanders: “To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed”

BY BERNIE SANDERS in the New York Times: WALL STREET is still out of control. Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail. But almost every one is bigger today than it was before the bailout. If any were … Continue reading Bernie Sanders: “To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed”

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Beyond Paris: what was really achieved at the COP21 climate summit, and what next?

Michael Hopkin, The Conversation As French foreign minister Laurent Fabius brought his gavel down on the most ambitious climate deal ever struck, at 7:27pm on Saturday December 12, 2015, applause broke out throughout the sprawling conference centre in Le Bourget. It spread even into the cavernous media centre that played host to an estimated 3,700 … Continue reading Beyond Paris: what was really achieved at the COP21 climate summit, and what next?

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FORTUNE: What the Presidential Candidates Are Failing to Address About CEO Pay

Phil Kotler’s latest article in FORTUNE asks us to ask more questions. In the last Republican TV debate, Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief, Gerald Baker, put the following question to presidential candidate Rand Paul: “Income inequality has been rising in the United States. Fifty years ago, for example, the average CEO of a big corporation in this country earned … Continue reading FORTUNE: What the Presidential Candidates Are Failing to Address About CEO Pay

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CALL FOR ENTRIES: Greed! A Video Contest from Econ4

The Econ4 network of teachers, professors, practitioners, students and others are working to shift how economics is understood, taught and practiced. We’re now launching a video contest to crowdsource as many short, 3 minute videos about “Greed” as possible. We will distribute many of these across our network and beyond. The contest is patterned after the … Continue reading CALL FOR ENTRIES: Greed! A Video Contest from Econ4

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VIDEO: Corpocracy – at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art

Corpocracy is the absurd reality of our society in which corporations and their interests are allowed to have dominance over the economic and political systems. Through the subversive imagination, the artist works toward a transformation of social consciousness. WATCH: The show features 13 artists including, Beehive Design Collective, Michael D’Antuono, Ron English, Clark Fox, Kenneth … Continue reading VIDEO: Corpocracy – at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art

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Can innovators build a future that’s both disruptive and just?

Ethan Zuckerman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology A few days ago – October 30 – MIT’s Media Lab celebrated its 30th anniversary. The Media Lab is a place that takes very seriously the idea that we can invent a better future and have it spread around the globe. It’s a place that’s helped invent things that … Continue reading Can innovators build a future that’s both disruptive and just?

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Corporate America’s Plan to ‘Misbehave Without Reproach

by Jon Queally, staff writer – CommonDreams.org An independent investigation by journalists featured in the New York Times on Sunday offers an in-depth look at the way American corporations have used the inclusion of “arbitration clauses” within consumer contracts to strategically circumvent judicial review of their behavior and immunize themselves from class action lawsuits –”realistically the only tool citizens have to fight … Continue reading Corporate America’s Plan to ‘Misbehave Without Reproach

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Janet Napolitano: Why more scientists are needed in the public square

Janet Napolitano, University of California, Office of the President In this presidential election season, one thing is certain: candidates will rarely – if ever – be asked what they would do to keep this nation at the forefront of science and innovation. That’s a shame. The public dialogue about science is perhaps the most vital … Continue reading Janet Napolitano: Why more scientists are needed in the public square

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Art & Response: An Interview with Michael D’Antuono

Considered one of the world’s most controversial artists, Michael D’Antuono is known for making art that challenges people to think more deeply about sociopolitical issues. His collectors range from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Pete Seeger and his work has received high praise from fellow artists Shepard Fairey and Banksy. What made you decide to dive into this sort of … Continue reading Art & Response: An Interview with Michael D’Antuono

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Breaking the link between a conservative worldview and climate skepticism

Andrew J Hoffman, University of Michigan The tide is finally turning. In last night’s third Republican debates, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and former New York Governor George Pataki both acknowledged the scientific consensus that climate change is real and linked to human activities. These candidates participated in the “undercard” debate of four before the … Continue reading Breaking the link between a conservative worldview and climate skepticism

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The Real Revolutionary: The Art of Packard Jennings

Packard Jennings is the nicest revolutionary you’ll ever meet. Polite and soft-spoken, he’s as self-effacing as they come.  And yet this is the man who is one of our hyperconsumerculture’s sharpest critics, using “appropriation, humor, and interventionist techniques to explore the dynamics of public spaces, and to address political and corporate transgressions against public interest.” Jennings got … Continue reading The Real Revolutionary: The Art of Packard Jennings

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Questioning Reality: Yoshua Okón’s Videos of Alienation

Yoshua Okón was born in Mexico City in 1970 where he currently lives. His work has been described as “a series of near-sociological experiments executed for the camera, blends staged situations, documentation and improvisation and questions habitual perceptions of reality and truth, selfhood and morality.” Okón challenges the assumptions we make as so many of us live our lives … Continue reading Questioning Reality: Yoshua Okón’s Videos of Alienation

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The Struggle Against Joyless Materialism: The Art of Clark Fox

Clark V. Fox (aka Michael Clark), the “Godfather of modern underground art,” started making art full time in Houston, Texas at age 5 and has never slowed down since. “Art chose me: I’m an American Indian, and Indians make stuff. My father carved. My mother painted. when I was five, I’d go up and down the … Continue reading The Struggle Against Joyless Materialism: The Art of Clark Fox

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Make it Rain (∄MIR): The Social Practice of Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung

Social practice is an art medium that focuses on social engagement, inviting collaboration with individuals, communities, and institutions in the creation of participatory art. For artist Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, social practice meant taking on the very foundation of capitalist society – money. Running out of money?  What’s an artist/entrepreneur to do? Why not make like the Federal … Continue reading Make it Rain (∄MIR): The Social Practice of Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung

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Move to Amend’s Proposed 28th Amendment to the US Constitution

 House Joint Resolution 29 introduced February 14, 2013 Section 1. [Artificial Entities Such as Corporations Do Not Have Constitutional Rights] The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under this Constitution … Continue reading Move to Amend’s Proposed 28th Amendment to the US Constitution

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Free Online Class: “The Creation and Destruction of the Great American Middle Class (1930-2010)” with Professor Stanley Stasch

This course is an economic history of what happened to ordinary American people and families from about 1930 to 2010. From the late 1940s to about 1980 ordinary people and families in the United States enjoyed a tremendous increase in their prosperity and quality of life, especially when compared with the conditions that existed during … Continue reading Free Online Class: “The Creation and Destruction of the Great American Middle Class (1930-2010)” with Professor Stanley Stasch

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Phil Kotler on the Relationship between Marketing and Capitalism

People often ask me: “You are known as a marketing guru. Yet you just published a book called Confronting Capitalism. How is it that a marketing expert is writing about Capitalism?” I usually give two answers. First, I am a Ph.D. economist and I have spent many years studying how markets and marketing works. Marketing … Continue reading Phil Kotler on the Relationship between Marketing and Capitalism

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Labor Day? Let’s Tell The Truth And Call It “Assets Day”

Come on, face it. “Labor Day” is a national fiction — right up there with “anti-trust enforcement” and “regulating Wall Street.” The only parades that matter this September 7th will trudge through Wal-Mart, Gap, Radio Shack and other retailers in mad pursuit of holiday price reductions that come from eviscerating labor, not investing in it. … Continue reading Labor Day? Let’s Tell The Truth And Call It “Assets Day”

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Our Partnership with Huffington Post – Join Us!

We’ve just begun a partnership with Huffington Post – and we invite you to join us.  It’s worth repeating why we’re doing this: Capitalism must evolve to serve the needs of all citizens, not just the very affluent. Our goal is to discuss the 14 Shortcomings of Capitalism and systematically analyze the problems and potential solutions. … Continue reading Our Partnership with Huffington Post – Join Us!

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WATCH: Hedrick Smith on Who Stole the American Dream?

Hedrick Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and editor, and Emmy award-winning producer/correspondent. He has won most of television’s top awards including two Emmys and two Dupont-Columbia Gold batons for the best public affairs programs on U.S. television in 1991 and in 2002. His current best-seller, Who Stole the American Dream … Continue reading WATCH: Hedrick Smith on Who Stole the American Dream?

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Listening to the Voice of the Planet

Since the Japanese Quality Revolution of the 1970s and 80s, companies have been obsessed with hearing and incorporating the “Voice of the Customer” into their management systems and processes.  Many still struggle to incorporate this elusive voice effectively–to be truly customer driven.  Indeed, many firms are still on the journey to learn how to “build … Continue reading Listening to the Voice of the Planet

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What is a Conscious Business? An Interview with Raj Sisodia

Raj Sisodia is a leading figure in the Conscious Capitalism movement – he is the FW Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. He is also Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Conscious Capitalism Inc. Let’s begin by asking: what is a conscious business? … Continue reading What is a Conscious Business? An Interview with Raj Sisodia

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Judicial Obstruction of Economic Reform

Philip Kotler calls for economic reform in Confronting Capitalism and envisions a kinder, gentler capitalism (to paraphrase President George H.W. Bush). Economic reform is not something the U.S. judicial branch takes kindly too. While Kotler’s book includes 14 shortcomings of capitalism, there is little mention of the judiciary. In my view a fifteenth shortcoming in needed. … Continue reading Judicial Obstruction of Economic Reform

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If 90% Market Share Isn’t a Monopoly …

… then I don’t know what is. Monsanto’s U.S. market share is 90% in soybean and 80% in corn seed sales (Dan Mitchell, Fortune). In the same article, Larry Robbins of the Glenview Capital hedge fund goes further and says Monsanto has “perpetual local monopolies.” They tie farmers to contracts for life. The Monsanto case is a perfect illustration of at … Continue reading If 90% Market Share Isn’t a Monopoly …

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REPORT: Regenerative Capitalism

In April 2015, Capital Institute released Regenerative Capitalism (by John Fullerton) at an event hosted by Yale University.  John Fullerton is the founder and president of Capital Institute, “a collaborative working to explore and effect the economic transition to a more just, regenerative, and thus sustainable way of living on this earth through the transformation of finance.” Through the … Continue reading REPORT: Regenerative Capitalism

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The Great Corporate Tax Dodge

Confronting Capitalism by Philip Kotler is organized around 14 shortcomings. The list is broad and his thinking is brave and deep without being strident or bleak—a daunting challenge and a wonderful contribution given the controversial if not explosive nature of emotions at the intersection of money and politics. Kotler’s inaugural post for this site invites enhancements … Continue reading The Great Corporate Tax Dodge

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With encyclical, Pope Francis elevates environmental justice

Lisa Sideris, Indiana University, Bloomington When the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose Francis as his papal name, he signaled to the world a dual commitment to sustainability and the global poor. His namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, was a man of poverty and peace who loved nature and animals, and is said to have … Continue reading With encyclical, Pope Francis elevates environmental justice

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Introduction

Welcome! As you’re aware, we live in a time where rational voices are increasingly questioning the shortcomings of capitalism. A group of us are starting a new online-community called FIXCapitalism.com and I wanted to personally invite you to participate. My name is Phil Kotler, and I’m a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. The community brings together business … Continue reading Introduction