In this session, impact economist Bruno Roche, author of Completing Capitalism and Putting Purpose into Practice (Oxford University Press and China Publishing House), will present the Economics of Mutuality, a groundbreaking value creation model for companies and cities. Developed during his tenure as Chief Economist at the multinational Mars Incorporated, in collaboration with Former Founding Dean and Professor Colin Mayer of the Saïd Business School at Oxford University, this model offers a bold alternative beyond the failure of socialism and the drift of capitalism.
Rooted in decades of theoretical development and practical experimentation, the Economics of Mutuality challenges the supremacy of shareholder maximization—a model that has created vast wealth but also deep inequality, environmental degradation, the erosion of the middle class, and, ultimately, the rise of extremes.
Rather than focusing on maximizing value first (capitalism) and then deciding how to redistribute it (socialism), the Economics of Mutuality flips the script: it embeds mutual benefit directly into the process of value creation itself. Leading to a higher level of value created and shared.
Bruno Roche will illustrate this new school of thought with real-world examples from business, public policy, urban development, and management education around the world.
At a time when our civilizations are faltering, when traditional models of value creation are running out of steam — with value creation increasingly disconnected from social cohesion and environmental stewardship — and when the temptations of illiberal democracy follow the drift of a dysfunctional market economy, the message of the Economics of Mutuality can serve as a compass, a North Star for leaders in the public and private sectors, as well as in management education.
It offers a direction for rebuilding a more just economy in the service of a less unjust society.
