The system has worked fairly well and neither corporations nor most individuals wish to completely dismantle it. But it is far from a perfect structure and the imperfections are fast becoming fault lines that threaten to destroy the very values society set capitalism free to protect. The social investment industry has the potential to change the world. It has the potential to slow or reverse the common wisdom that the purpose of corporations is to provide financial return, to remind society that the purpose of Microsoft, for example, is not to return profits to investors. The purpose of Microsoft is to provide computer software.
Profits are only a means to that end.
The logical extension to the argument that financial return is the purpose of the corporation, is that corporations will get out of the business of providing goods and services and stick to money lending. Clearly the end result of this argument is that five people become very wealthy and billions starve. Our purpose goes beyond providing personal choice. It goes beyond bearing witness. Our purpose is to win a desperate struggle - the struggle against the system.