Capitalism is a good system when production is concerned, but not good enough a system if we want adequate distribution. And a system that produces well, but does not distribute accordingly, is structurally unbalanced. We need alternatives. What we have had up to now are not alternatives, but simplifications, with statism on one side, and liberalism on the other, redemption being expected to come either from the bourgeoisie or from the proletariat, depending on the political views. This debate will continue, but reality has changed. Economic growth is obviously not sufficient, assuming it exists. No modern economic activity can be stimulated if we do not have the corresponding investment in people, through health, education, culture, leisure and so on. Social activities are no longer a complement to banking and industry. They have become central to the economy itself. In the U.S., the new economic locomotive is not the car industry, but health, representing 14% of GDP. While social services have become central in modern economies, they still have to find their management paradigm. Huge, centralized state burocracies are not responsive enough, while privatization has led to dramatic abuse. The lack of specific management responses to the new demands of social services has become a key problem both in avanced and developing economies.
social management; third sector; non-profit management; education; health