Lord Kalms
Main Page: Lord Kalms (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Lord Kalms
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, has covered the ground well, and I thank him for inaugurating this short but valuable debate. Regretfully, the market economy is both hero and villain. Our task and our duty is to deal with its flaws. It will be fatal if we do not find the cure. The market is selfish, greedy and inward looking. Its thinking can be short term and it is corruptible. The bankers’ poisoned products leave an indelible mark on our memory. The search for gold temporarily blinds the market to its consequences. It deliberately confuses charity with its tax efficiency against a wider social responsibility. Its wealth is for internal consumption—and fat do they all grow.
Today, the market looks to globalisation, particularly in Africa and Asia, to create new wealth. It employs young labour, tax avoidance, subsistence wages, unacceptable working conditions and the corruption of local bureaucracies. Investment often becomes exploitation. Its sole raison d’être is the creation of wealth. The white T-shirt sold for a few pounds with a high margin must not be allowed to hide an invisible sheen of blood and tears.
We all recognise that these defects are part of all of us. The weaknesses are of a human nature. Few are totally innocent, and we must exercise self-criticism. To know the problem is how to solve the problem. Wealth creation must become remodelled. It must include the community and the world, and it can no longer be a golden island. It must embed into its character and soul the concept of ethics. It must ensure that wealth has to be transformed into spreading prosperity.
This concept is not in the stars; it is within our own hands. There are many companies and great philanthropists who pursue this model. They see the City as their responsibility. We must insist that all wealth creators have a duty of care to the society that creates their opportunity.