Capitalism, Inner Work, and Socratic Wisdom
The world stands at a crossroads. As we face unprecedented global challenges — environmental crises, economic inequality, and the fraying of social bonds — the need to rethink our current economic paradigm has never been clearer. Across boardrooms, financial conferences and business schools, there is a growing recognition that capitalism must evolve — no longer serving only profits but also prioritizing people and the planet. The way forward appears differently to different people though.
Some argue that the starting point for re-imagining capitalism is to re-design corporations; to instill social and environmental purposes within companies, encouraging them to pursue the triple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit. In other words, companies should seek profit as a means to create long-term value and well-being, rather than as an end. They have a point — businesses are the backbone of our economies. Responsible, visionary companies are essential for building the future we want. Governments and philanthropies alone don’t have the means to achieve this.
Others believe the financial system needs to allow — and even encourage — business leaders to focus on longer-term goals, rather than being fixated on quarterly results. With this shift, businesses would have more time to create real value for all stakeholders, focusing on Environmental, Social, and Governance factors and positive impact, instead of feeling pressured to maximize short-term gains for shareholders only. These voices also raise a valid point. If businesses are the backbone, finance is the lifeblood that keeps the system running.
Yet others advocate for governments to take a more active role in guiding businesses and economies toward green, resilient, and inclusive growth through public investments. Some are aiming at a sort of Green Keynesianism. They argue that tackling climate change and environmental degradation requires substantial public investment, much like the Keynesian economic strategies used to stabilize economies in the past. These investments, they believe, can generate jobs, drive economic growth, and build a sustainable and equitable future. Some also call for regulation to promote transparency and provide tax incentives to reward problem-solving and innovation.
In my humble opinion, all three approaches are essential. Businesses, finance, and governments have critical roles to play in the just and green transition. We need impactful investment capital to reach purpose-driven companies, facilitating the transition to a decarbonized, circular, and just economy. And need visionary, solution-driven government spending to support these efforts.
However, we must remember something very simple, yet paramount: businesses, finance, and governments are not abstract entities. They are labels for groups of individuals with different roles in society. They are people. Conscious businesses, responsible financial institutions, and visionary governments are impossible without conscious, responsible, and visionary people creating and steering them.
The inner path to reimagining capitalism
The foundation of stakeholder capitalism, purpose-driven businesses, impact investing, the 2030 Agenda, and all these inspiring concepts we’ve developed over the past few decades rests on inner work.
Inner work is one of the least discussed, yet most transformative, paths to ensuring that outer change is both real and enduring.
The essence of inner work is simple, yet powerful. While we may not be able to change the world on our own, we have the ability to transform the one thing we can control — ourselves. If enough of us become beacons of hope, cooperation, and peace, we can ignite the spark that transforms the world. The ripple effect of individual virtue — understood in its most profound, ancient, noble sense — and responsibilitycan shape the just, sustainable, and equitable future we envision.
Echoing Marie Curie’s words:
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for our own improvement, while at the same time sharing a general responsibility for all humanity, with our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”
Our external world is a direct reflection of our internal states. The conflicts, inequalities, and environmental degradation we witness today are deeply rooted in inner states of hatred, egoism, greed, and a profound disconnection from others and nature. Conversely, outer peace, equality, inclusion, and environmental stewardship naturally emerge from inner qualities like love, empathy, generosity, and moral integrity.
By transforming our inner world, we lay the foundation for a harmonious and sustainable future for all.
While there is a wealth of excellent material offering technocratic solutions for building a better world — like Mark Carney’s magnificent Value(s): Building a Better World for All (which I highly recommend) — many of these approaches miss a crucial dimension. Carney presents a compelling vision for redesigning our economic and financial systems to prioritize societal values like sustainability, fairness, and long-term well-being over mere profit and market efficiency. He acknowledges the need to shift societal values. However, he doesn’t delve into the philosophical, psychological, or moral shifts necessary to sustain these changes. He doesn’t explore the inner transformation needed to make his outer vision real and lasting.
This is not surprising. In a technocratic, secular, and pluralistic society, diving deep into philosophical and moral discussions is intimidating, to say the least! Such discussions belong to the subjective realm, and the private sphere. It requires a great deal of humility and courage to question deeply held beliefs and confront uncomfortable truths. As a post-Enlightenment society, we are far more comfortable dealing with objective data and numbers than with the nuances of the inner world.
Ancient Philosophy
Inner work is deeply introspective. It involves looking inward to explore our thoughts, emotions and beliefs to understand ourselves better and strive for self-improvement. The goal of inner work is to lead a fulfilling, balanced, and authentic life by aligning our choices with our true selves. It’s a lifelong journey, one that can lead to a deeper sense of peace, purpose, and connection with others.
Inner work can take many forms — religious or spiritual practice, self-reflection, meditation, mindfulness, therapy, and more.
I found in Ancient Philosophy one of the paths to inner work. Embracing Philosophy as a way of life, as our ancestors did, can help us reconnect with our deepest human values, and align our actions with them. By embracing a Philosophical life, I mean dedicating ourselves to cultivating character and developing a strong moral compass, as understood by the intellectual and moral giants of the past — not only by our Greco-Roman ancestors like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and my favourite, Epictetus — but also by history’s most revered spiritual leaders, such as Jesus, Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Buddha.
“Unless the soul is cured, which cannot be done without Philosophy, there will be no end to our miseries.” – Cicero
When Socrates was asked to sum up all philosophical commandments, he famously replied: “Know yourself.” This idea, inspired by the famous Delphi inscription “Know thyself,” encapsulates the essence of Socrates’ philosophy: self-examination.
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
By self-examination, Socrates meant looking inward to explore the reality of our soul, and to care for it. For him, the soul was the essence of who we truly are, the source of thought and language. He believed that the soul, rather than wealth, status, or reputation, deserved our greatest attention. As he stated in Plato’s Apology, the soul is what we must care for and strive to perfect.
Socrates was right, by nurturing our inner life, we become better human beings, more capable of contributing meaningfully to the world:
“What will bring peace is inward transformation, which will lead to outward action. Inward transformation is not isolation, is not withdrawal from outward action. On the contrary, there can be right action only when there is right thinking, and there is no right thinking when there is no self-knowledge. Without knowing yourself, there is no peace…” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
Let me finish with my Ode to Inner Work:
Inner work to transcend the material, technocratic world we live in, allowing ourselves to reconnect with our true essence, with others, and with nature.
Inner work to question whether post-Enlightenment values truly belong to us, or if we simply inherited them, taking them for granted.
Inner work to make the unconscious, conscious.
Inner work to create meaning through our life choices, embracing our freedom and the responsibility that comes with it.
Inner work to discover our talent, our Ikigai, and put it at the service of humanity. We’ll be paid back with happiness, fulfilment, and joy.
Inner work to stop the endless pursuit of more, to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. To realise that the quality of our lives depends upon the quality of our thoughts, which in turn shape the quality of our relationships—with ourselves, with others, and with nature.
Inner work to acquire the peace and wisdom needed to become true leaders, inspiring others to follow suit, so that together, we can restore ethics to our economy and to its powerful tool, finance.
Inner work for outer change to be real and lasting.
Inner work as the starting point to reimagine capitalism.
