New York Times (August 20)
“Nearly 200 chief executives, including the leaders of Apple, Pepsi and Walmart, tried on Monday to redefine the role of business in society—and how companies are perceived by an increasingly skeptical public.” The new inclusiveness of multiple stakeholders sounds appealing. Still, “for companies to truly make good on their lofty promises, they will need Wall Street to embrace their idealism, too. Until investors start measuring companies by their social impact instead of their quarterly returns, systemic change may prove elusive.”
Tags: Apple, CEOs, Idealism, Inclusiveness, Investors, Pepsi, Redefine, Role of business, Skeptical, Society, Stakeholders, Wall Street, Walmart
The Atlantic (October Issue)
“Estrangements are political, not personal…. Given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy. Indeed, if history is anything to go by, all societies eventually will…. Polarization is normal…. Skepticism about liberal democracy is also normal. And the appeal of authoritarianism is eternal.”
Tags: Appeal, Authoritarianism, Democracy, History, Liberal democracy, Polarization, Skepticism, Society
Reuters (August 16)
“Banks still have to work to rebuild public trust, despite years of restructuring and paying fines and compensation for misbehaviour.” A YouGov survey found that “66 percent of adults in Britain do not trust banks to work in the best interests of society.”
Tags: Banks, Compensation, Fines, Misbehaviour, Public trust, Restructuring, Society, Survey, Trust, UK, YouGov
U.S. News & World Report (May 30)
Trump’s tweets “tell more of the ‘real story’ than he understands: the story of a president with few commitments to a pluralistic society, with little impulse control and who still remains distinct – and distant – from the office he holds.”
Tags: Commitments, Distant, Distinct, Impulse control, Pluralistic, Society, Trump, Tweets
The Economist (January 14)
“When education fails to keep pace with technology, the result is inequality. Without the skills to stay useful as innovations arrive, workers suffer—and if enough of them fall behind, society starts to fall apart.” Robotics and artificial intelligence now emerging “call for another education revolution.” But to succeed, the offerings will need to be lifelong and attract those who aren’t already considered high achievers.
Tags: AI, Education, High achievers, Inequality, Innovation, Lifelong, Pace, Robotics, Skills, Society, Technology, Useful, Workers
Institutional Investor (June 16)
“Short-termism, often driven by activists, can have grave implications for corporations, for our economy and sometimes for society overall. Innovation, discovery and hiring are curtailed when R&D projects are put on hold or cancelled because of short-term pressures…. Short-termism also leads to mispricing, misallocation of assets and a lack of reliable information about long-term prospects.”
Tags: Activists, Assets, Corporations, Discovery, Economy, Hiring, Innovation, Misallocation, Mispricing, Prospects, R&D, Short-termism, Society
Institutional Investor (May 23)
Autonomous driving (AD) will transform society and it could prove the best (or worst) of times for insurers. Nobody really knows. “Futurologists assert that the safety advances and insurance industry disruption caused by AD technology will be unlike any since the advent of automobiles in the late 19th century. According to KPMG, over the next 25 years, there will be an 80 percent decline in accident frequency.”
Tags: Accidents, Advances, Automobile, Autonomous driving, Cars, Disruption, Futurologists, Insurance, Insurers, KPMG, Safety, Society, Technology
The Economist (November 21)
“The West has two things to defend: the lives of its citizens, and the liberal values of tolerance and the rule of law that underpin its society. Where these are in conflict, it should choose policies that minimise the damage to values in order to make large gains in protection. Sadly, in the scramble for security, that principle often seems to be the first thing to go.”
Tags: Citizens, Conflict, Liberal values, Lives, Protection, Rule of law, Security, Society, Tolerance
New York Times (November 6)
“Support for making marijuana legal is increasing around the world, and that is a good thing…. Laws banning the growing, distribution and possession of marijuana have caused tremendous damage to society, with billions spent on imprisoning people for violating pointlessly harsh laws.” Moreover, “marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, and can be used to treat medical conditions like chronic pain.”
Tags: Alcohol, Ban, Damage, Distribution, Legal, Marijuana, Pain, Possession, Prison, Society, Support, Tobacco
Los Angeles Times (October 1)
“Today’s mass shooting at an Oregon community college brings us once again to the national crisis that we, as a democratic society, keep proving we’re incapable of resolving.” The numbers don’t seem to “matter because, within the framework of the nation’s sick approach to gun violence, the dead never seem to count.”
Tags: Crisis, Dead, Gun violence, Mass shooting, Oregon, Society, U.S.
