David Korten
Encyclopedia
David C. Korten is an American
economist, author, and former Professor of the Harvard Business School
, political activist
and prominent critic of corporate globalization
, "by training and inclination a student of psychology and behavioral systems". His best-known publication is When Corporations Rule the World
(1995 and 2001). In 2011, he was named an Utne Reader
visionary.
in 1937 and is a 1955 graduate of Longview's R. A. Long
high school. He received a Master of Business Administration
and PhD
from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He says: "My early career [after leaving Stanford in 1959] was devoted to setting up business school
s in low-income
countries - starting with Ethiopia". He served during the Vietnam War
as a captain in the United States Air Force
, undertaking US-based teaching and organisational duties; and for 5½ years was a visiting professor in the Harvard Business School. While at Stanford in the 1950s, he married Frances Fisher Korten, with whom he now lives on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington
.
's Graduate School of Business where he taught in Harvard's middle management, M.B.A. and doctoral programs.
He also served as the Harvard Business School
adviser to the Nicaragua
-based Central American Institute of Business Administration. He subsequently joined the staff of the Harvard Institute for International Development
, where he headed a Ford Foundation-funded project to strengthen the organization and management of national family-planning programs.
In the late 1970s, Korten moved to Southeast Asia
, where he lived for nearly 15 years, serving as a Ford Foundation
project specialist and, later, as Asia regional advisor on development management to the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), which involved him in regular travel between Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Korten says he became disenchanted with the official aid system and devoted his last five years in Asia to "working with leaders of Asian nongovernmental organizations
on identifying the root causes of development failure in the region and building the capacity of civil society
organizations to function as strategic catalysts of national- and global-level change". He formed the view that the poverty, growing inequality, environmental devastation, and social disintegration
he was observing in Asia was also being experienced in nearly every country in the world, including the United States and other "developed" countries. He also concluded that the United States was actively promoting—both at home and abroad—the very policies that were deepening the resulting global crisis.
He returned to the US in 1992 and has assisted in raising public consciousness of the political and institutional consequences of economic globalization and the expansion of corporate power at the expense of democracy, equity, and environmental protection
.
Korten is co-founder and board chair of the Positive Futures Network which publishes the quarterly YES! Magazine
. He is also a board member of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
, an associate of the International Forum on Globalization., and a member of the Club of Rome
.
of converging crises including climate change
, peak oil
, and a financial crisis
caused by an unbalanced economy. This will cause major changes to the current economic and social structure. These crises present an opportunity for significant changes that replace the paradigm of "Empire" with one of "Earth Community". Korten's "Earth Community" is based on sustainable, just, and caring communities which incorporate mutual responsibility and accountability.
for a Just Economic Community, has adopted The Great Turning as a major focus.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist, author, and former Professor of the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
, political activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and prominent critic of corporate globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, "by training and inclination a student of psychology and behavioral systems". His best-known publication is When Corporations Rule the World
When Corporations Rule the World
When Corporations Rule the World is an anti-globalization book by David Korten. Korten examines the evolution of corporations in the United States and argues that corporate libertarians have 'twisted' the ideas of free market economist Adam Smith's view of the role of private companies.Korten...
(1995 and 2001). In 2011, he was named an Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
visionary.
Early life and career
David Korten was born in Longview, WashingtonLongview, Washington
Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census and is the largest city in Cowlitz County...
in 1937 and is a 1955 graduate of Longview's R. A. Long
R. A. Long High School
R. A. Long High School is the oldest high school servicing the city of Longview, Washington. It was erected in 1927, three years after the city of Longview was incorporated. The total student enrollment at the end of the 2005-06 school year was 1017. The school is named for the city's founder,...
high school. He received a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
and PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He says: "My early career [after leaving Stanford in 1959] was devoted to setting up business school
Business school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
s in low-income
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
countries - starting with Ethiopia". He served during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as a captain in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, undertaking US-based teaching and organisational duties; and for 5½ years was a visiting professor in the Harvard Business School. While at Stanford in the 1950s, he married Frances Fisher Korten, with whom he now lives on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
Career and main body of work
He served for five and a half years as a Visiting Associate Professor of the Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Graduate School of Business where he taught in Harvard's middle management, M.B.A. and doctoral programs.
He also served as the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
adviser to the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
-based Central American Institute of Business Administration. He subsequently joined the staff of the Harvard Institute for International Development
Harvard Institute for International Development
The Harvard Institute for International Development was a think-tank dedicated to helping nations join the global economy, operating between 1974 and 2000...
, where he headed a Ford Foundation-funded project to strengthen the organization and management of national family-planning programs.
In the late 1970s, Korten moved to Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, where he lived for nearly 15 years, serving as a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
project specialist and, later, as Asia regional advisor on development management to the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID), which involved him in regular travel between Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Korten says he became disenchanted with the official aid system and devoted his last five years in Asia to "working with leaders of Asian nongovernmental organizations
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
on identifying the root causes of development failure in the region and building the capacity of civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
organizations to function as strategic catalysts of national- and global-level change". He formed the view that the poverty, growing inequality, environmental devastation, and social disintegration
Social disintegration
Social disintegration is the tendency for society to decline or disintegrate over time, perhaps due to the lapse or breakdown of traditional social support systems. In this context, "society" refers to the social order which maintains a society, rather than the political order that defines its...
he was observing in Asia was also being experienced in nearly every country in the world, including the United States and other "developed" countries. He also concluded that the United States was actively promoting—both at home and abroad—the very policies that were deepening the resulting global crisis.
He returned to the US in 1992 and has assisted in raising public consciousness of the political and institutional consequences of economic globalization and the expansion of corporate power at the expense of democracy, equity, and environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
.
Korten is co-founder and board chair of the Positive Futures Network which publishes the quarterly YES! Magazine
YES! Magazine
YES! Magazine is a non-profit, ad-free magazine that covers topics of social justice, environmental sustainability, alternative economics, and peace. The magazine is published by Positive Futures Network, founded by David Korten and Sarah van Gelder; Korten's wife, Fran Korten, is the publisher. ...
. He is also a board member of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies is a growing North American alliance of nearly 60 fully autonomous local business networks with their own names, missions, and initiatives, representing about 20,000 US and Canadian entrepreneurs. All networks share a commitment to Living Economy...
, an associate of the International Forum on Globalization., and a member of the Club of Rome
Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. Founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy, the CoR describes itself as "a group of world citizens, sharing a common concern for the future of humanity." It consists of current and...
.
The Great Turning
Korten's 2006 book The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community argues that the development of empires about 5,000 years ago initiated unequal distribution of power and social benefits to a small portion of the population they controlled. He also argues that corporations are modern versions of empire, both being social organizations based on hierarchies, chauvinism, and domination through violence. The rise of powerful advanced technology combined with the control of corporate as well as nation based empires is described as becoming increasingly destructive to communities and the environment. The world is shown as about to face a perfect stormPerfect storm
A "perfect storm" is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically. The term is also used to describe an actual phemonenon that happens to occur in such a confluence, resulting in an event of unusual magnitude.-Origin:First ...
of converging crises including climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, peak oil
Peak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
, and a financial crisis
Financial crisis
The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these...
caused by an unbalanced economy. This will cause major changes to the current economic and social structure. These crises present an opportunity for significant changes that replace the paradigm of "Empire" with one of "Earth Community". Korten's "Earth Community" is based on sustainable, just, and caring communities which incorporate mutual responsibility and accountability.
Cultural influence
The Unitarian UniversalistsUnitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
for a Just Economic Community, has adopted The Great Turning as a major focus.
See also
- Corporate libertarianism
- Earth CharterEarth CharterThe Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century...
- Spaceship EarthSpaceship EarthSpaceship Earth is a world view term usually expressing concern over the use of limited resources available on Earth and the behavior of everyone on it to act as a harmonious crew working toward the greater good....
- Joanna MacyJoanna MacyJoanna Rogers Macy, Ph.D , is an environmental activist, author, scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology.-Biography:...
, collaborator with Korten who uses "The Great Turning" idea in her work.
External links
- David Korten website
- David Korten's Blog on the web of YES! MagazineYES! MagazineYES! Magazine is a non-profit, ad-free magazine that covers topics of social justice, environmental sustainability, alternative economics, and peace. The magazine is published by Positive Futures Network, founded by David Korten and Sarah van Gelder; Korten's wife, Fran Korten, is the publisher. ...
- People-Centered Development Forum
- Great Turning Initiative website
- YES! A Journal of Positive Futures (see also YES! MagazineYES! MagazineYES! Magazine is a non-profit, ad-free magazine that covers topics of social justice, environmental sustainability, alternative economics, and peace. The magazine is published by Positive Futures Network, founded by David Korten and Sarah van Gelder; Korten's wife, Fran Korten, is the publisher. ...
) - Video of David Korten with the Dalai Lama during filming of the documentary Dalai Lama RenaissanceDalai Lama RenaissanceDalai Lama Renaissance is a feature length documentary film, produced and directed by Khashyar Darvich, and narrated by actor Harrison Ford. The film documents the Dalai Lama's meeting with the self-titled "Synthesis" group, made up of 40 Western "renaissance" thinkers who hope to use the meeting...
http://www.dalailamafilm.com - Conscious Choice - The end of Business as Usual 2007 article on Korten, his work, and an assessment of the significance of "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community
- "What Can We Learn from the Antiglobalists?" - 5,000-word discussion and critique of Korten's book The Great Turning
- "The Betrayal of Adam Smith" by David C. Korten
- The Great Turning – A reference website for the Great Turning book and a resource list for the Great Turning movement
- The Great Turning Navigators' Wiki
- Manifesto on Global Economic Transitions at the Center for a World in Balance
- We are hard-wired to care and connect by David Korten, July 30, 2008, YES! MagazineYES! MagazineYES! Magazine is a non-profit, ad-free magazine that covers topics of social justice, environmental sustainability, alternative economics, and peace. The magazine is published by Positive Futures Network, founded by David Korten and Sarah van Gelder; Korten's wife, Fran Korten, is the publisher. ...
- The Story of David Korten by Our World in Balance
- Everybody Wants To Rule The World - and interview with David Korten on the Great Turning by Arnie Cooper published in The Sun magazine