In Isaac Asimov’s groundbreaking collection of short stories titled I, Robot, we encounter a profound ethical framework: the Three Laws of Robotics. These laws ensure robots protect human beings and obey orders while preserving themselves. They represent a brilliant moral compass designed to prevent harm and maximize good. But what if we applied a similar moral framework to our economic systems? What if we demanded that capitalism, like Asimov’s robots, be programmed to serve humanity rather than exploit it?
Recalibrating Our Moral Compass with Eyes Wide Open
Philosopher John Rawls introduced a provocative thought experiment called the “Veil of Ignorance” that can help us better understand the moral questions Asimov provokes. Imagine leaving this world temporarily, only to return without knowing your societal position. You might return as a corporate executive or a minimum-wage worker, as a man or a woman, as White or Black. Behind this veil of not knowing, what kind of economic system would you design?
Would you not advocate for protections for labor that are at least as strong as the protections for business interests advocated for in the Powell memo? Would you not reject modern American capitalism, which makes wealthy corporate titans massively richer but leaves the rest behind?
These questions strike at the heart of our national character. They reveal that the psychology of selfishness and tribal preference runs deeper than the cold calculations of economics. Like Asimov’s psycho-historian in the novel Foundation, who understood that human psychology ultimately determines historical outcomes, we must recognize that our psychological frameworks shape our economic realities more powerfully than any market force, particularly our addiction to zero-sum thinking.
Shaking Off the Plight of Zero-Sum Thinking
The zero-sum mentality, or the belief that your gain must come at my expense, has poisoned the well of American capitalism. It has transformed Adam Smith’s moral vision of capitalism into a grotesque caricature that Smith himself would scarcely recognize. Smith never advocated for unfettered markets divorced from ethical considerations. His vision included high ethical standards, progressive taxation, appropriate regulation and government as a partner in prosperity rather than an enemy to be vanquished.
Even Milton Friedman, often portrayed as the prophet of shareholder supremacy, believed that companies should treat workers and communities well. He advocated for universal basic income to care for those unable to participate fully in capitalism or left behind by capitalism’s creative destruction. These nuances have been deliberately erased from our economic discourse by those who benefit from an extractive system.
The evidence is overwhelming: extractive, exclusive economic institutions inevitably lead to national decline. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson’s landmark book, Why Nations Fail, demonstrates conclusively that societies prosper when they build inclusive economic institutions that distribute opportunity broadly. Nations stagnate when small elites capture economic and political power, extracting wealth rather than creating it. Employee disengagement stemming from extractive corporate culture costs American businesses an estimated $483 to $605 billion annually. This represents nearly $13 trillion in potential market capitalization—value that could be created if businesses embraced inclusive practices. The cost of exclusion isn’t merely moral; it’s economically catastrophic.
A system where prosperity is shared, where opportunity is genuine and where our economic institutions reflect our highest values rather than our basest instincts is not out of reach. But it requires us to reject zero-sum thinking and embrace a positive-sum mindset where we recognize that we all win when we all win.
Imagine corporations that see workers as investments rather than costs, that distribute ownership broadly through stock options or employee stock ownership plans, that measure success not just by quarterly profits but by their contribution to community well-being. Imagine investors who demand both competitive returns and positive social impact, recognizing that these goals are complementary rather than contradictory. Imagine government as a strategic partner in building inclusive prosperity, investing in the foundations of shared growth while ensuring that markets serve the many rather than the few.
This is not utopian fantasy. It represents the best traditions of American pragmatism—building on what works, discarding what doesn’t and constantly expanding the circle of opportunity. It draws inspiration from our past while acknowledging that, as Martin Wolf writes in The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, “The world of the mid-twentieth century is, for both good and bad, gone forever. We need to ‘build back better.'”
Bending the Arc of Our Economy Toward Fairness
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. I believe the arc of our economic universe can bend toward fairness if we have the courage to reshape it. This will not happen through passive hoping or waiting for elites to voluntarily surrender their advantages. It requires active, determined citizens committed to transforming our economic institutions. And “fair opportunity” does not mean equal outcome. Outcomes depend on energy, effort, persistence, relationships and luck.
Investors, business leaders, policymakers and citizens: join this moral revolution in economic thinking. Question the zero-sum myths that justify exclusion. Demand transparency around the impacts of business decisions. Support companies and policies that expand opportunity rather than restrict it. Invest your time, talent and resources in building the equitable economy we need.
Someone once said, “You wouldn’t have read this far if you thought the pursuit of equality was impossible, or that the economic problems we face are fundamentally unsolvable.” We can solve these problems if we have the courage to face them honestly and the determination to address their root causes. Let us move forward with the understanding that behind the veil of ignorance, we would all choose a system that protects the most vulnerable, that distributes opportunity broadly and that measures success by how well it serves all citizens, not just the privileged few. Let us build an economy worthy of our highest aspirations—one that embodies our deepest values of justice, opportunity and shared prosperity.
The time is always right to do what is right. And today, right now, we must commit ourselves to bending the arc of our economy toward fairness. Our future as a nation depends on it.