Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism
We make the case for Moral Capitalism.
In this issue, we have three complementary essays – two by me and one from Michael Hartoonian – that focus on the nature of institutional capital and the proper roles and responsibilities of government.
I would be most interested in your thoughts and feedback.
I am very pleased to announce that Todd Lefko of St. Paul, Minnesota, has joined our board of directors.
Todd brings practical, organizing experience from politics, business acumen from managing a small trading company, insight into Russian culture and politics and a commitment to internationalism.
He has already taken a lead in application of the Caux Round Table Principles for Government and Civil Society to an effort to revitalize not only the economy, but the prowess of civil society to create and sustain social and human capitals in St Paul.
Todd is president of the International Business Development Company, an import-export firm dealing with water purification equipment, art, linen, kilns and new technologies.
He has worked in Russia for over 35 years.
He was the weekly columnist for Rossiske Vesti, the political newspaper of the Russian presidential administration for 18 years and has written over 700 articles in Rossiske Vesti and other newspapers and magazines.
Todd is on the editorial board of the Russian Historical Reporter and has been the English editor for four Russian books.
Todd is chair of East-West Connections, an international non-profit focused on citizen diplomacy.
He has taught over 4400 students at the University of Minnesota and other Minnesota colleges.
He has lectured at universities in Russia, Germany, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Todd is a fellow of the Caux Round Table.
He was a member of the technical advisory committee for the Almaty Management University in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Todd holds a B.A. in history, an M.A. in public administration and the coursework for a Ph.D. in urban history from the University of Minnesota.
He has also studied public policy as a Bush Fellow at Harvard University and urban planning at the University of Manchester, England.
He is one of the founders of Global Volunteers and has served as their treasurer and representative at the United Nations.
Todd has also been a member of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council, the Regional Transit Board and the Minnesota Experimental City Authority.
The work of the Caux Round Table is unique and frankly, often lonely. Our world has changed in recent decades and not for the better, it seems.
A war in Ukraine and an uneasy truce in Gaza with yet no reconciliation between Palestinians and the Jews of Israel. We see, in the rear-view mirror, the past leadership of the United Nations in sustaining world peace, the past enthusiasm for human rights, the past confidence in globalization and its facilitation of harmonization of religions, races, peoples and nation states. The “other” is, more and more, less our neighbor or our friend and so seemingly less entitled to our respect, trust and “love.”
The Hebrew book of Proverbs notes that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Who, today, is providing vision so that peoples do not perish?
With our unique and inspired idiosyncratic study of the covenants of the Prophet Muhammad – overlooked for 1,300 years – we try our best to step up and serve.
Our forthcoming book on Adam Smith, to mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of his Wealth of Nations, is another unique and inspired contribution to a global ethic of sustainable and trustworthy wealth creation.
We are out in front with our monthly newsletter, Pegasus, on how social and human capitals provide for good politics, just government and material well-being for all.
We are not funded by the high and the mighty, but by special people with vision and commitment to the common good.
I think you are such a person.
We are once again participating in Give to the Max here in Minnesota, which is tomorrow, Thursday, November 20, and ask for your support.
You can either donate through our GTMD page here, by mailing a check to us at 75 West Fifth Street, Suite 219, St. Paul, MN 55102 or by wire transfer (please ask for instructions).
Anything you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for being a part of our network.
We recently posted a couple more short videos on relevant and timely topics. They include:
–Moral Capitalism vs. Democratic Socialism
All our videos can be found on our YouTube page here. We recently put them into 9 playlists, which you can find here.
If you aren’t following us on Twitter or haven’t liked us on Facebook, please do so. We update both platforms frequently.
In this issue, we feature three essays.
First, Michael Hartoonian writes about rising cynicism and the collapse of the vital notion of human capital.
Next, Todd Lefko, the newest member of our board of directors, outlines the challenges facing the world and how our founding principles and present work could serve as an engine for dialogue and trust-building.
Lastly, Michael Wright, CEO of Intercepting Horizons, as well as one of our fellows, provides a positive take on the prospects of what he terms ethical AI.
As usual, I would be most interested in your thoughts and feedback.
In this issue, we move from a deep analysis of Islam and faith among People of the Book to a more introspective examination of who we are as people and what we ought to strive to. Both essays, while seemingly separate, have interplay that enriches them together.
First is a book review, by me, of Professor John Andrew Morrow’s The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World.
In order to explore the covenants and the impact they could potentially have on inter-religious dialogue, one must come to the issue with a sense of reflection and humility. This dovetails nicely with Michael Hartoonian’s article on knowing thyself.
As usual, I would be most interested in your thoughts and feedback.Pegasus September 2025
Here’s the August issue of Pegasus.
Both of the essays in this edition touch on the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the first one a bit more so than the second. His appearance in these two pieces underscores how his views from the second half of the 19th century still resonate today, often in disharmonious ways.
As usual, I’d be very interested in your thoughts and feedback.
We recently posted a couple more short videos on relevant and timely topics. They include:
–Target and Stakeholder Capitalism
All our videos can be found on our YouTube page here. We recently put them into 9 playlists, which you can find here.
If you aren’t following us on Twitter or haven’t liked us on Facebook, please do so. We update both platforms frequently.
Here’s the July issue of Pegasus.
In this edition, we have two essays that take deep dives into civilization.
First, Michael Hartoonian writes about the challenges of building civilization, but holds out that the proper establishment of civilization, especially as it relates to knowledge and intelligence, can provide for the good life.
Next, I take Michael’s concepts and apply them to tools.
As usual, I would be most interested in your thoughts and feedback.
Our world is facing a questioning of values.
From questioning capitalism and democracy, to a growth of acceptance of autocracy, we are in a period of challenge to the theories which have developed our world.
We seek clarity of thought and a pathway for a moral future.
Steve Young’s book, Moral Capitalism, has been translated into Russian by Professor Yury Blagov of the Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University.
His book responds to an international need at the moment of greatest challenge, not simply in Russia, but across the world.
Reflecting the Caux Round Table’s Principles for Business, it becomes a blueprint for Russia and the world of a capitalism which, when properly structured, remains the only system capable of reducing global poverty and tyranny and addressing the hopes and needs of transforming geopolitics and economics.
We have witnessed how capitalism was misunderstood and misused into becoming “brute capitalism.”
We now witness how societies and nations are fragmenting, rather than focusing upon the common issues which unite humanity.
We have the opportunity to build a new moral capitalism which reflects the required social change, progress and economic stability which our world seeks.
We have the opportunity, with the ideas presented by Steve Young.
We must take advantage of this opportunity in the current divided world.
The Caux Round Table can lead the discussion and implementation of this renewal. I hope you will provide leadership for that discussion.