Manifesto for Finance that Serves the Common Good

In March 2008 the Observatoire de la Finance published its manifesto entitled ‘For finance that serves the common good’. Below is a second version of this manifesto that takes account of the many comments received over the past year and reflects what has become only too apparent during that year – namely, the widespread reluctance to see the crisis as anything but a mere cyclical upheaval, the helplessness of both the public and the private sector in the face of it, and the failure of purely technical measures to control it.

Today we must regain control of the future before it is too late – reverse the financialization process and ensure that finance once again operates in the interests of human dignity and progress. The manifesto aims to alert men and women of good will to the danger that threatens our precious economic and political freedom because we have succumbed to the illusion that ‘greed is good’. Even if ‘greed’ may appear to boost economic efficiency, it can only do so by profoundly undermining the very foundations of society: trust, respect and solidarity.

Please send your comments to manifeste@obsfin.ch