What does the political environment in many developed nations tell us about the sustainability of two of the major drivers of global economic progress: globalization and technology?

This piece offers a personal perspective on the root causes and implications of the current turmoil and what corporate leaders can do to shape conditions for continued prosperity. Given the tough constraints that CEOs face in attempting to transcend the intense focus on short-term returns, the “how” is at least as complex as the “what.” Nevertheless, we hope that this article will stimulate discussion on the business and society agenda for major corporations in developed countries and beyond.

We Live in a time of Unpredicted Prosperity

We have had a great run. The world has never been more prosperous than it is today.^[1]IMF, World Economic Outlook, January 2016. People around the world live longer, healthier lives than ever before.^[2]United Nations, Human Development Report, 2015. In emerging markets, billions of people have moved out of extreme poverty.^[3]Francisco Ferreira et al., “A Global Count of the Extreme Poor in 2012,” World Bank Policy Research, 7432, October 2015. In the developed world, we enjoy better medicines, education, information, connectivity, and mobility than most of us could have imagined a quarter century ago.

These achievements have many fathers and mothers. Human inventiveness, political leadership, social activism, and entrepreneurship have all contributed to what Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen described as human freedom.^[4]Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press, 1999.

Carefully crafted policies for the free exchange of goods, services, capital, and labor—commonly known as globalization—and the march of technology have played essential roles. These two forces have increased productivity, opened up markets, and created opportunities for billions of people to improve their lives.