Why I want to Fix Capitalism

Hey Everyone. LOTS going on. A submission to a broadcaster on the 6th, exciting new web-team, and a new day job for moi.

I'll let you in on all the details on Tuesday. In the meantime, here is a letter I just wrote for the broadcaster, explaining my position on Capitalism and asking for their support. (for the record)

For anyone in Vancouver. We're having a party at my house tomorrow night. Feel free to get in touch for an invite!

Peace

A*

Why I want to fix Capitalism

By: Adam Cormier

August 29, 2006


Dear Friend,

If you want to change the world and make it a better place, you have to take a good hard look at capitalism. Whether you think it is at the root of the problem or the key to all solutions, understanding it is essential to the health of our civilization.

My deepest hope for our documentary, Fixing Capitalism, is that it will get the average person thinking about the world and about capitalism with the intention of making both better.

There are so many solutions out there! Share-holder activists, sustainable CEO’s, Base of the Pyramid ‘Micropreneurs’, Fair-trade products, cradle-to-cradle designs, and conscious consumers. Capitalism is undergoing a major evolution.

I first became interested in understanding capitalism on the morning of September 11, 2001. As I watched those two skyscrapers crumble on TV, my reality crumbled with them. That day I had my epiphany. Which was; if I have been blessed with some small amount of talent, how I can spend then rest of life only trying to make money when I could try and change the world, make it a better place. That morning in September I did a 180 degree turn and have not looked back since.

Up until September 10th, I hadn’t given much critical thought to the world or its economic underpinnings. I was in business school, determined to charm my way up the corporate ladder upon graduation. Everything changed for me that day.

Fixing Capitalism is the natural progression of the activism I began in my business school after I had my ‘epiphany’, pressuring my faculty to make the ethics course mandatory. Back then; I was a firm proponent of something called The Business Case Behind Sustainability, the idea that the progressive and sustainable companies will become competitively superior in the market place. While I still believe that, I now also think that a major revisiting of capitalism’s basics are needed before any real change can take place.

Capitalism is a very tricky word. It means different things to different people and is loaded with emotional references. Some worship it, some despise it, most take it for granted. Personally, I was raised to love it, and in many ways, I still do. Growing up in the 1980’s I dreamed of climbing the corporate ladder and having the freedom to do anything that I wanted to do.

All that changed for me that one morning around the turn of the century.

If you want to change the world, we have to look at capitalism. Whether you worship it or despise it, it has got to change. Like it or not, it is changing.

I am not anti-capitalist or pro-capitalist. What I am, is extremely interested in understanding the history, nature, and current evolution of capitalism, with the intention of making the world a better place. I don’t blame all our problems on economics but do believe that they are exasperating the environmental and international crisis of the day. Solutions, and the incredible potential of the market to spread them, are what really excite me. My research has led me to believe that a much better world is right around the corner, if we can only work up the courage to try a different path.

This is a letter asking for your support of the upcoming documentary film, Fixing Capitalism. I have been working on this film for three years now and am determined to see it through to reality. If you have it in your power to help make this dream come true, please consider doing so. If nothing else, thank-you for taking the time to read these words.

Yours in the evolution of our ideas,



Adam J. Cormier


Vancouver, British Columbia, 2006