The Caux Round Table announces its 2012 Global Dialogue at Mountain House in Caux, Switzerland, for July 29, 30 and 31.

Registration is available on the Caux Round Table’s website at www.cauxroundtable.org

The market economy in the West is facing a deepening crisis.  Our free market system is drifting on the tides of fate without much of a leadership, ethical or values rudder.  Debt, materialism and self-interest have increasingly dominated life in the West and financial intermediation and business have, in large part, become decoupled from long-term or societal value creation.  As a result, the fabric of society is being seriously stressed, thereby bringing the sustainability of the soft, welfare state into question.

If the free market system is to survive and prosper, major reform and change is clearly needed.  But, where will the needed leadership for change and reform come from?

Governments, multilateral bodies and regulators clearly have a critical role to play, but more enlightened business leadership holds the real key.  Will business leaders see the light and lead beyond their corporate walls in addressing the threats to the future of the free market system?  Will business leaders rise to the challenge and deliver the new business models and behaviors necessary to chart a new paradigm for responsible enterprise and shared prosperity in the emerging, new world order?

Recognition and concern is certainly growing.  The Financial Times recently published a series of commentaries on the theme “Capitalism In Crisis;” the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in January was filled with angst over the future of capitalism; and UK Prime Minister David Cameron has joined earlier calls by French President Nicholas Sarkozy for  a “moral capitalism.”

Yet, there are few, if any, recommendations for real action.  The Financial Times, for example, merely opined that “Since Adam Smith, intelligent defenders of free markets have known that capitalism works best when people’s free choices are also governed by moral values.”

This has been the position of the Caux Round Table for 26 years, since its first meeting at Mountain House in Caux, Switzerland.  Since then, the Caux Round Table has moved forward strategically and intellectually with principles and management tools to make such a moral capitalism more of a reality.

Participants at the Global Dialogue will contribute their views and experiences on large global challenges facing not only business decision-makers, but all national and international leaders and their constituents.

Four major recommendations for reform of global capitalism will be discussed at this Global Dialogue.  They will include:

• The role of governments
• Repositioning of finance and banking
• New rating agencies and valuation methodology
• Revision of financial theory

The preliminary agenda is available on the Caux Round Table’s website at www.cauxroundtable.org.

Caux Round Table, The

Caux Round Table, The

Vision: Our VISION is for a world with - Rising Living Standards, Social Justice and Human Dignity for All Our vision is all about being obsessed with better possibilities for all. This vision is not small; to facilitate change for the better in humanity's ability to raise living standards, provide for social justice and realize the fullness of individual human dignity in all our days is a challenge of massive proportions but it is a challenge we readily accept. To achieve it, we will have to inspire and lead with inspiration and courage.

Mission: Our MISSION is twofold:

* To promote moral capitalism and responsible government

* To ensure greater prosperity, sustainability and fairness in a global economy.

These are our overarching goals and priorities. They translate our vision into a concrete view of our direction and purpose.

We believe Moral Capitalism is the only system with the potential to reduce global poverty and tyranny and address the needs and aspirations of individuals, societies, and nations.

As Stephen Young, the Executive Director of the Caux Round Table has written, "the challenge of moral capitalism is to tip the balance of wealth creation toward humanity's more noble possibilities and away from the dynamics of more brutish behavior."

The Caux Round Table stands for movement from aspiration to action. We straddle the ideals of principles and of ethical concern for the common good and the practical needs of businesses and governments to "get it right" in their actions and decisions. To facilitate implementation of a more moral capitalism, the Caux Round Table provides decision-making guidelines in the form of principles for business, principles for governments, principles for NGOs, and principles for the owners of wealth. The Caux Round Table futher provides a comprehensive risk assessment approach to CSR and stakeholder relationships, Arcturus, and a way of encourageing individuals to reflect on their decision-making styles to move from self-centered frameworks to stakeholder frameworks in business and public policy decision-making. We also provide educational programs for company directors, CSR certificates, and handbooks on CSRT for small and medium size enterprises and on the practice of moral government.

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