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page 117 chapter II
The current debate on the structuring of the finan-
cial markets, and even of economic policy as a whole,
thus shows that it is not simply a matter of legal or
organisational issues. We also need a new awareness.
To echo Max Weber, it’s a question of the “ ‘right’ spirit
of capitalism”.
Jack Welch, the former boss of General Electric, was
recently reported as saying: “On the face of it, shareholder
value is the dumbest idea in the world.” If that
quotation is accurate, it would indicate a very welcome
form of the wisdom that comes with age. After
all, we need to pursue the justified interests of all the
stakeholders in a business.
Our ambition must be to do justice to owners, customers
and employees alike, and also to the public.
This ambition can still best be realised – and I would
expressly like to emphasise this – in a social market
economy. The concept of the social market economy
sees people as social beings, who realise themselves
in a community and feel committed to it. At the
same time, it offers the individual the freedom to apply
his or her creativity and courage to create new
things and thereby generate benefits for society.
So, the social market economy is characterised by a
fascinating combination of individual freedom and
societal responsibility.
Faced by an extraordinarily severe economic slump,
we today need to pay particular attention to ensuring
that neither the social market economy nor democracy
sustains irreparable damage. After all, it worries
me that the public‘s confidence in our economic sys-