IN August last year, the US-based Business Roundtable created waves when it announced its “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” that formally pushed for stakeholder capitalism. Led by Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, 187 chief executive officers (CEOs) of the top American companies turned away from its decades-long belief that the main goal of a business corporation is to service its shareholders. In its statement, the Roundtable declared that “each of our stakeholders is essential [and] we commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country.”

More than a year since this declaration was made, the global pandemic has caused massive job losses in the US amid the highest number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases and deaths in the world. The Washington Post reported that “the economic collapse sparked by the pandemic is triggering the most unequal recession in modern US history, delivering a mild setback for those at or near the top and a Depression-like blow for those at the bottom.” Ironically, the state of stakeholder capitalism in the US is much worse today than it was before the Roundtable released its statement. Tremendous profits have been made in the stock market while millions have suffered the worst economic setback since the Global Financial Crisis.