“During the 2020 pandemic, while most Americans were struggling with unemployment, billionaires gained $1 trillion, which went largely to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. The gains of these two men were greater than the GDPs of 139 countries.” Read more via Fortune

“If normal pay increase rates had remained unchanged during the past few decades, average American workers would be receiving $100,000 per year instead of the $50,000 they get today. In total, business moved roughly $50 trillion from the working class to the top one percent of society. A Rand study called it “The Great Wealth Transfer”. Read more via Fortune

“The focus on money that fueled the industrial past no longer makes sense today, when the critical resources needed to solve challenges have shifted from factories and machines to knowledge, innovation, and creativity.” Read more via Fortune

“While Americans have favored a pure form of capitalism, Japanese corporations serve society, Europeans use worker participation, the Nordic nations form civic associations, and China has state capitalism. Rather than “stakeholder capitalism”, “conscious capitalism”, or “ESG”, the new market system should be more accurately thought of as an “economic democracy,” a “corporate community,” or a “collaborative enterprise.” Ideally, Americans should strive for a “democratic enterprise.”  Read more via Fortune

“My studies of social evolution have led me to believe that the current world order is unsustainable due to existential threats, such as climate change, pandemics, and inequality. Only a historic shift to a “global consciousness” can save civilization. Corporations are the most powerful institutions in the world, so this shift in economic consciousness could be revolutionary.”  Read more via Fortune

This episode was live-streamed on March 14, 2022. In this episode, Gerd delivered a 20 min presentation on ‘The Future of Democracy‘ followed by a live Q&A.

Download this video on Gerd’s Vimeo channel