Thinkers & Ideas BCG Henderson Institute

In his new book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, Financial Times’ chief economics commentator Martin Wolf explores the causes of and solutions to today’s global democratic recession.
Wolf, who in 2000 was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) “for services to financial journalism,” is the author of several earlier books on global economics. Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, they discuss the fragile marriage of liberal democracy and market capitalism. They are twin ideologies—both based on the belief in human agency and the rule of law. But when wealth leads to political power or political power to wealth, the system breaks down. We are seeing this play out in keystone liberal democracies struggling to contain populism, and in authoritarian regimes that are gaining momentum.
The struggle with populism, in particular, can be traced to three developments: the emergence of societal rifts around questions of identity, the decline of the economic and political position of the working class, and the rise of the financial and tech sector as the new elite. Essential to the restoration of liberal democracy, Wolf and Reeves note, is the imperative to improve economic and political institutions such that opportunity, security, and dignity are available to all.
Key topics discussed:
00:58 | The fragile marriage of liberal democracy and market capitalism04:08 | Evidence for a global democratic recession11:01 | The forces behind democratic decline15:30 | The agenda for restoring democratic capitalism19:22 | The key role of business leaders
About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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In their book Sustainability, Technology, and Finance: Rethinking How Markets Integrate ESG, Georg Kell and Andreas Rasche explore the swiftly emerging and crucially important nexus among sustainability, finance, and technology.
Kell is Chairman of the tech company Arabesque, which uses AI and data to assess sustainability performance and guide investments. He is also founder of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Rasche is a professor of business in society and Associate Dean of Copenhagen Business School. Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, they discuss the bleeding edge of sustainability thinking.
ESG investment, Kell and Rasche explain, should be viewed through three lenses as they relate to technology. First, technological innovations, such as chemical recycling for plastics, shape firms’ ESG performance. Second, technological developments enable investors to assess ESG performance more accurately (for example, the use of blockchain tech to enhance supply chain transparency). Finally, the ESG investment agenda itself is influenced by technology; consider that Bitcoin mining creates significant emissions. Based on this three-lens framework, Kell and Rasche explain how technology can be a critical part of the sustainability solution.
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About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

This conversation was recorded on November 16th, 2022.
In her book Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source, law professor Kathryn Judge examines the changing role of intermediaries in the economy.
Judge, an expert on banking, financial markets, and regulation, is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Intellectual Life at Columbia Law School. Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Judge discusses both the positive and negative impacts of intermediaries in the economy.
She explains that although they have undoubtedly created new value, in some cases middlemen have become entrenched over time, leading to market distortions and new sources of fragility. While markets have started to self-correct, regulators will also have a crucial role to play. Judge proposes a balanced way forward, emphasizing the possibilities of direct exchange.
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About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

This conversation was recorded on November 28th, 2022. 
Ram Charan is a business consultant, author, and CEO advisor who has had more than 40 years of experience advising executives and boards of top companies around the world. Ram has authored 30 books and sold over 4 million copies globally.
In his latest book, Leading Through Inflation: And Recession and Stagflation, Ram provides hands-on guidance for business leaders to navigate inflation. He explains how leaders are challenged in doing and emphasizes the importance of taking a macro-view, looking forward, understanding inflations drivers, looking at particulars for a business or industry, managing cash flow, and taking preemptive action.
In discussion with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Ram explores not only how to manage inflation but how this relates to leading through crisis and choosing the right talent to do so.
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About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

In his latest book, How to Stay Smart in a Smart World: Why Human Intelligence Still Beats Algorithms, psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer examines how humans need to adapt in order to make the best use of new technologies like AI.
Gerd Gigerenzer is director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the University of Potsdam and director emeritus of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute and is an expert on human decision making. Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses the uses and limits of AI, the cost-benefit of using technology, and how we can do to better equip ourselves as individuals and societies to deal with this.
In particular, he argues that shaping the context for using AI or improving the skills of users may often yield greater returns than improving the technology itself. He proposes that using AI without doing either of these things can cause the atrophy of skills, create ambiguity around truthfulness, and foster unhealthy reliance. He proposes various practical strategies for making ourselves smarter in an increasingly algorithmic world.
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About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Adi Ignatius is the Editor in Chief of Harvard Business Review (HBR). Prior to joining HBR, Adi worked for many years at Wall Street Journal as the Moscow and Beijing bureau chief, and subsequently served as deputy managing director of Time. He has authored several books, including Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang and President Obama, the Path to the White House.
In this special episode of Thinkers & Ideas, Adi discusses Harvard Business Review at 100, which highlights the 30 articles that helped popularize some of the best and most enduring business ideas.
Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Adi shares his unique perspective on the origin of big ideas, as well as the trends and technologies that underlie them. They also discuss the evolution of HBR’s content curation, accessibility, market exposure, and commitment to its mission over time.
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About the BCG Henderson Institute
The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy