We recently had the honour of hosting a seminar given by Christian Felber in the IDEC-UPF lecture hall on the economy for the common good. Cooperation and contribution to the common good could take over from such questionable trends as competition and the pursuit of profit. We need to include within our vocabulary terms such as Common Good Product, the social equivalent of GDP. And see contributions to the common good as the equivalent of financial profits. This means the natural integration at companies of ethical balance sheets, supplementing the financial balance sheets which are necessary, but which on their own lack meaning.

An ethical balance sheet needs to include those aspects of management which deal with human dignity, solidarity, ecological sustainability, social justice and democratic participation. I do not believe this will be a mere fad, but a requirement for a society which has seen that a perspective skewed towards just one of these two aspects does not work: ethical and financial balance sheets must of necessity work side by side.

Carme Martinell

Director General of Continuing Education Institute Foundation