Capitalism
As If the World Matters

Can capitalism, as the only real economic game in town, be retooled to deliver a sustainable future? This book argues that indeed it can, and provides a framework for 'sustainable capitalism' that cuts across the political divide and promises a prosperous future of wealth, equity and ecosystem integrity.

As our great economic machine grinds relentlessly forward into a future of declining fossil fuel supplies, climate change and ecosystem failure, governments are at long last beginning to question the very structure of the global economy. In this fresh, politically charged analysis, Jonathon Porritt wades in on the most pressing question of the 21st century: can capitalism, as the only real economic game in town, be retooled to deliver a sustainable future? Porritt argues that indeed it can, and it must, as he lays out the framework for a new 'sustainable capitalism' that cuts across the political divide and promises a prosperous future of wealth, equity and ecosystem integrity.

Part I: Our Unsustainable World ? Introduction ? Conflicting Imperatives ? Sustainable Development for Real ? Re-engaging with Economic Growth ? Unsustainable Capitalism? ? Through the Global Looking Glass ? Part II: A Framework for Sustainable Capitalism ? The Five Capitals Framework ? Natural Capital ? Human Capital ? Social Capital ? Manufactured Capital ? Financial Capital ? Part III: Better Lives in a Better World ? Confronting Denial ? Changing the Metrics ? Business Excellence ? Civil Society ? Visions and Values ? Converging Imperatives ? Bibliography, Index