How Citizen Investors are Reshaping the Corporate Agenda

Book: Davis, S., Lukomnik, J. and Pitt-Watson, D. (2006), The New Capitalists: How Citizen Investors are Reshaping the Corporate Agenda (Boston: Harvard Business School Press)

Excerpt

What is the Civil Economy?

"A thriving civil economy mirrors a thriving democracy. Constitutional and accountable political institutions supported by political parties, an independent judiciary, a free press, impartial law, civic bodies, and an involved citizenry sustain democracy in a civil society. The parallel institutions of a civil economy can be understood to be constitutional and accountable corporations supported by engaged shareowners and their accountable representatives, independent monitors, credible standards, and vigilant and active civil society associations participating in the marketplace.

There are a number of characteristics of a more civil economy:

• It is open and pluralist, welcoming entrepreneurship and innovation, whether financial or social, through traditional company or other structures, including mutuals and social enterprise. • Economic actors are clear about their responsibilities and accountable to their owners, but have due regard for other stakeholders, including communities and workers, and for the environment. • Institutional owners, such as pension funds, are accountable to their savers and push corporations towards sustainable prosperity through responsible management. • Information standards and flows allow for independent scrutiny on the part of individuals, civil society and the media. • The success of the economy is not measured in terms of short-term economic growth or financial gains, but in terms of the sustainable well-being of current and future generations." (source: http://p2pfoundation.net/Inquiry_into_the_Future_of_Civil_Society)