Studio Guest: Markus Beckmann

Professor for Social Entrepeneurship, Leuphana University Lüneburg.DW-TV: And for more I’m joined Markus Beckmann, Professor for Social Entrepreneurship at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg ENORM wants to re-define "capitalism" - is that possible? Markus Beckmann: Well, I don't know if the magazine can redefine capitalism, but it's certainly contributing to a very lively discussion right now that centers on the issue of how can the pursuit of profit be reconciled with our moral ideals. I think there's a great curiosity and need to talk about that, because many people feel lost in capitalism right now, and that's something enorm is trying to pick up on. DW-TV: The global financial crisis was triggerd by the banking industry, not corporate industry, so why should companies change the way they do business? Markus Beckmann: Good question. We still have a lot to find out and learn about what actually went wrong. Just changing things without understanding the problem might do nothing about that problem. My feeling is that we don't need to change the whole system, but to set up rules in the banking system, how to structure risk, etc. But it think harnessing the profit motive for social objectives offers some pretty good reasons for being pursued further. DW-TV: Social Entrepreneurship seems more humanitarian than profitable...would you agree? Markus Beckmann: Well that's where they start. Social entrepreneurship starts with a social mission because one sees that both government structures and the market have so far failed to address a problem. So there are entrepreneurs who want to use entrepreneurial strategies to address such a problem. Then there's the question of how I implement that. Social entrepreneurs can be very pragmatic. It can be a non-profit scheme if there are donors, or it can be for profit - just look at microfinance, take Mohammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank - it can be quite lucrative. DW-TV: How long do you think it would take the idea of social ent...

Channel: sevenload Video Length: 0s Date Found: Thu, Aug 26 2010 11:48 PM Category: News Date Produced: Wed, Aug 25 2010 12:00 AM View Count: 2