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Cameron tells bankers: Adopt moral capitalism
Joe Murphy, Political Editor30 Jan 2009
DAVID CAMERON is to tell the world's most powerful bankers and business leaders they must embrace "moral capitalism".
In a stern lecture tonight at the Davos world economic summit, he will declare: "We must also stand up to business when the things that people value are at risk."
The Tory leader will praise the wealth-creating might of the free market but call for clear limits on the "global corporate juggernauts" responsible for the economic crisis.
"So it's time to place the market within a moral framework - even if that means standing up to companies who make life harder for parents and families," he will say.
"It's time to help create vibrant, local economies - even if that means standing in the way of the global corporate juggernauts."
In a scathing criticism of complex but instable banking practices, he will say: "Our financial system boasts people so bright they've created financial instruments beyond even their own understanding."
Mr Cameron aims to use the gathering of world leaders and financiers at the Swiss ski resort to present himself as a reformer who, in contrast to previous Conservatives, was ready to admit the markets get it wrong.
Gordon Brown, meanwhile, will use the summit to urge leaders to resist the temptation to put up trade barriers in response to the global slump.
His appeal for a fresh start to the stalled world trade talks comes amid fears that President Barack Obama could lead a retreat into protectionist policies. But after Mr Obama and his senior US economic advisers pulled out of the Davos talks, Chancellor Alistair Darling declared that he would no longer be going.
"It was decided that as a number of the people he was due to meet had pulled out, his time would be better spent doing other things," a spokesman said.
And with banks under fire for their role in causing the economic crisis, many leading financiers who normally attend have chosen to stay away.
The summit opened amid shock at the news that Japan's industrial output plunged 9.6 per cent last month.
Reader views (40)
Moral Capitalism = Backdoor Socialism = Soviet Command = Failure = think before you open your gob!
- James Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove, NY, USA, 02/02/2009 18:55
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The trouble with Camoron he thinks that if he has a quiet word with the overpaid failures in the City and the Boardrooms they will be so convinced by his oratory they will immediately cut their salaries by fifty percent and abolish the bonus culture. He has got to realise that he will need to use legislation to tame these feral beasts but it would go against his politics. So a word from Dave and the City will continue on its merry way to Hell taking us with it.
- Arthur Andrews, Ilford England, 02/02/2009 12:59
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There are models of private enterprise and investment without the excesses of 'Rentier' capitalism - check out the Full Employment League for more.
However Cameron needs to have a word with Hague who couldn't care less if recession hit British families are undercut by cheap imported EU labour. It's all very well moaning about our broken society, but the way to fix it should not include importing unemployment when there are suitable workers available in this country.
- Brian, London, 02/02/2009 09:23
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Does David Cameron seriously think he can introduce "moral capitalism". Whatever form or shape it takes, capitalism = greed and no watering down in form or shape will change it. Who gains from the current bail out subsidies being dished out.? Answer "The Rich".
- Humphrey Thornicroft, Perth Western Australia, 02/02/2009 03:18
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Whilst he's at it, get lions to eat vegetables!
Yeah, right!.............Thought so!
GERONIMO
- Geronimo, LONDON MIDDLESEX, 02/02/2009 00:38
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"Toff spouts oxymoron"...film at 11.
- Micky, Everywhere, 01/02/2009 21:59
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does this mean if hes prime minister big bosses of banks wii habe to let go of their millions£ salaries- thats good. but getting those billions which went in the pockets of the bosses up to now back is the problem
- Beljamine, uk, 01/02/2009 18:11
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At all costs we must vote Brown out of office. At all costs we must not vote Cameron into office. AaaH!
- wat tyler, Derbyshire, UK, 01/02/2009 17:46
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Adam Smith propaganda??Look, we do not make anything - this country is systemically and endemically corrupt. Nepotism, PFI, kickbacks, favours, lobbyists, non-exec positions for MPs and ex-PM.'s etc., and a completely useless army of management and consultants. You can't blame that on 'dole scroungers'. How come the rich are all subsidised?????
- Mark, London, 01/02/2009 16:05
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All this from the leader of the part that believes in "loads of money" especially for themselves!!
Funny how nobody complained when house prices zoomed ever upwards and every thought that "this time next year my house will make me a millionaire". I dont remeber anyone calling for limits on bank loans and mortgages.
Global markets need global solutions but the tories cant even agree on working within the European Commission,while the other half have gone silent.
Lets take this time as an opportunity to bring in rules re lending and interest rates so we dont go back to how it was before. If cant afford something then you will just have to go without.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 01/02/2009 15:43
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Without the contrition of its principal beneficiaries and a realistic awarenes of this obvious and massive failure of free market capitalism a moral capitalism, whatever that could mean, is not possible.
Must we go on swallowing uncritically the assertion that this is the least worst system and demqand to be given it yet another chance?
Now is the best oppofrtunity to repace this tired old mantra and rise to the challenge of working out better ways of conducting human economic activities; the alternative of returning to a failed set of dogmas is not a viable option.
This is certainly not the time to be refinancing, rfereshing renewing and regenerating a patently failed and unstable system, claiming that it was born again and had 'found morality'.
- barrie, essex UK, 01/02/2009 12:16
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Mr Cameron, you said "Our financial system boasts people so bright they've created financial instruments beyond even their own understanding." This is plain wrong. They're either charlatans or simpletons.
- economicvoicedotcom, London UK, 01/02/2009 10:31
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"instable" banking practices.....and spelling!
- A.N, Greenwich, UK, 01/02/2009 09:37
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Asking bankers to integrate moral ideas into their corporate policies is unbelievably naive. Cameron is making noises for public consumption. Controlling greed and selfishness in the banking world cannot be done without external regulation. He wastes his time lecturing to bankers and should instead be lecturing those responsible for integrating moral and legal restraints into banking practice, and ensuring that they are followed.
- thomas greaves, sydney australia, 31/01/2009 22:54
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Camoron is just full of sound bites.
Dreadful opportunist.
- Steve Byrne, christchurch UK, 31/01/2009 14:16
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Instead of buying up the toxic assets acquired by our Banks the Taxpayer should use some of it to pay fifty percent of Banking Executies salaries and all of the bonuses paid out. Thus the Dealers and Idiots who got us into this mess can appreciate the value of the assets they overpriced.
- Ken Lock, Ilford England, 31/01/2009 11:07
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I think the message Cameron conveys is the word "thrift" has gone out of fashion along with the adage "charity begins at home"!!
- robert El-Cid,, Hull, East Yorks.,, 31/01/2009 09:05
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has any of these big executives returned the millions they've made at the expense of ordinary citizens, share holders, tax payers. so they still get away. how does one have faith in these govts
- beljamine, uk, 30/01/2009 23:56
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Dear oh dear. Can there ever have been such an unfortunate brace of photographs? The first reminding us that compared to Winston Churchill, David Cameron is a flea compared to a bulldog. And the second reminding us that he's willing to ape Tony Blair in any way possible, right down to recreating his (staged) photo opportunities. Amazing really, because Gordon Brown currently is coming across as a clueless, headless chicken, but Cameron makes him seem like the better option.
- Callum, London, 30/01/2009 23:48
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Moral Capitalism? There's no such thing.The government should do all they can to retrieve the vast amounts of money that the financial exploiters have stashed away in offshore tax havens
- Gery, Merseyside U.K, 30/01/2009 22:50
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David Cameron is a good man and should take over. Crash Gordon is a hige failure. He was supposed to be the supervisor - he lets us financial consumers and taxpayers down. Crash should go!!
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 30/01/2009 21:02
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in the last decade, the world concentrated on creating sophisticated financial systems without proportionate growth in the global production base. As a result, Huge incomes were made without value addition. Its all a hype!!! All bailouts should target increase in production and not stabilising financial systems ( yes to manufacturers and farmers, no to bankers).
- Abba, Kaduna - Nigeria, 30/01/2009 18:51
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It is so good of such a successful experienced politician to advise other World Leaders of how to run the Global Economy. He must have picked up a lot of tips from the much lamented Norman Lamont, who not only screwed up the UK Economy but designed the new Russian Economic system, based on Thatcherite policies. Dave is becoming a real National Treasure.
- Tony Travers, Ilford England, 30/01/2009 17:52
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"Our financial system boasts people so bright they've created financial instruments beyond even their own understanding."
Surely some mistake. Substitute the word 'greedy' for the word 'bright'.
- David Moon, Seaford, UK, 30/01/2009 17:49
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The moral imperative of business is to maximize profit. If the management of a company do not follow this imperative then they are in breach of their fiduciary duties to their shareholders. And there's the nub of problem. How do you square the circle? What management actually tend to do is focus very much on short-term profit at the expense of the company's long-term fortune. In this sense, they often behave exactly like politicians.
- John Edwards, London, UK, 30/01/2009 17:35
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So why didn't he ring up all his banker mates two, ten or twenty years ago and demand the same morality?
- Peter Guinness, London, 30/01/2009 17:31
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oh dear, [re; the picture] you don't get to Davos on the Jubilee Line!
I wonder just how many times 'Dave' has actually travelled ANTWHERE by tube!!!!!! apart from the purpose of getting a photo opportunity!!
- Dave, London, 30/01/2009 17:30
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He is a member of a party that has encouraged businessmen to be as red in tooth and claw as possible and then he comes up with this! What a grandstanding opportunistic hypocrite!
- Robert C, London UK, 30/01/2009 17:03
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Capatilism and morality thay are mutualy exclusive.Mr Cameron you sound more like a idealistic school boy every day.
- Kev, London-UK, 30/01/2009 15:28
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Moral Capitalism? Bit of an oxymoron I think we can now safely assume! Where have you been Dave?
- Barrie, essex UK, 30/01/2009 15:14
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Is Dave Cameron trying to compete with Gordy Broon and make even more crass statements?
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, 30/01/2009 15:10
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Capitalism and morality are oxymoronic. In the same way that it is not possible to be a Christian and a capitalist, they are directly opposing creeds. Cameron is trying to dress up capitalism into something it is not, and make it appear as being concerned with social justice. Lets be honest - capitalism is founded on greed any other interpretation is a deceit.
- Graham, Hove, Sussex, 30/01/2009 14:44
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he'll get on famously with bono, geldoff and the other davos hanger-ons. At least the slopes will be empty on saturday and sunday for us bankers...
- Jonathan, Zurich, Switzerland, 30/01/2009 14:00
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Is this the same 'moral capitalism' that led his predecessor Thatcher to shut down British manufacturing because it was supposedly unprofitable, with no thought to the social consequences? Gotta laugh at those crazy Tories!
- Charlie, Soho, 30/01/2009 13:54
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Good for him to shame these greedy money men.They take our taxes to keep running and pay themselves bonuses for failure.But please ,David get your own house in order with MP,s claims ie Martin The Speaker and Derek Conway employing his work shy family.
- Gerald Diamond, Romford Essex, 30/01/2009 13:25
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Since when was there a connection between morality and
money?
- Peter Little, Wendover, England, 30/01/2009 13:20
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A little late in the day.
I thought he would have said this five or more years ago he claims to have spotted everything else.
- Harry, London, 30/01/2009 12:21
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Or any morals, for that matter!
- Roz, Chamonix, France - if it really matters!, 30/01/2009 11:53
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Should the headline not read "David Cameron proving once again that MP's are utterly out of touch with reality".
- Bob, Cheam, 30/01/2009 11:51
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There is too much complexity in the global financial system. The complexity prevents most people from learning the truth about finance in general and immoral dealing in particular. Isn't this one of the greatest evils that we face in the world today? Something should be done about it, surely.
- John, London, 30/01/2009 11:29
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