It’s as if the “remote control” generation has migrated from the couch to the boardroom and the cabinet. This trend is partly explained by the quality of our leaders. But much of it has to do with the changing landscape of power. The limits of politics and the international system now hinder coordinated long-term action. When people talk of a leadership vacuum—of the failure of Washington and other governments to rally the world—what they’re actually often alluding to is the inadequacy of current decision-making and governance systems.
The power of the nation-state has weakened. Not even the U.S. government can do everything, and even mighty militaries depend on supplies and support provided by private industry and other commercial entities. The days of the all-powerful nation-state are long gone.
Yet today’s global systems of government aren’t able to fill the gap, since they are in dire need of reform themselves. These institutions are hampered by conventions and procedures devised, in some cases, more than six decades ago. They were designed to work within the rigid framework of the cold war, and not in a unipolar or multipolar world.
This is where corporate leaders should step in, to help shape and develop the way people make decisions collectively on the long-term issues that threaten our collective future. Corporate leaders are well poised to help develop a multi-stakeholder approach that works for the world at large and their businesses in particular.
Fortunately, corporate engagement is already on the rise worldwide—and not simply for commercial or PR purposes. More and more issues affecting business, such as environmental degradation or threats to public health, require a global response, and since our international institutions aren’t able to help much, the burden has fallen on individual nations, corporations and civil society. Yet these groups often lack the ability to tackle these problems, and so many corporations are recognizing that they must shoulder the burden. The need for businesses to play such a role is now beyond question. The iron logic of the power of collaboration is inescapable.
To fully acknowledge this deeper form of global engagement, businesses should start to create what I call corporate global citizenship. This idea goes way beyond corporate social responsibility, since it focuses on the global space, which is increasingly shaped by forces beyond the control of nation-states. Global corporations and their leaders have not only a license to operate in this arena but also a civic duty to contribute to the sustainable health of the world in cooperation with governments and civil society. Global corporate citizenship, moreover, can not only improve general well-being but become a catalyst for a new global governance system. No one knows exactly what that new system will look like. But if we’re lucky, it will enable world leaders to stop switching channels. It will get us to stand up from our collective couch and start tackling the real issues that threaten us all—together.
Schwab is founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum based in Geneva, Switzerland.
