From Extractive Capitalism to an “Economy of Enough”
“Business and society have a symbiotic relationship: The long-term viability of the corporation depends upon its responsibility to the society of which it is a part.”
- Business Roundtable, 1981
I moved back to the U.S. after eight years abroad in 2025. Naturally, people regard me as crazy. “Why NOW?” they say, when I share that I left the beaches of Costa Rica for this.
You’re hearing variations of this, too, right? “Jeez, the world is on fire.”
It’s in every conversation.
I tend to explain that you never fully extricate yourself from the U.S. as long as you remain a citizen, and even if you did cut ties… what’s happening here has reach.
We’re inextricably connected by our global economy and war-mongering politics. My social media landscape is American as apple pie.
Still, these little reflexes of small talk started to unsettle me. Not because they reminded me of impending doom, but because—
Inevitably, I’d mumble back, “Yeah, it’s pretty crazy,” before we’d lapse into mutual discomfort.
And in those silences, I felt powerless. That is what unsettled me.
The existential crises of our time are not something to observe limply, like the weather. They’re of far greater f**king consequence than a summer storm rolling in after lunch.
Then one day, I had a mini awakening about my internet use.
I decided to move away from the doom and gloom of social media, check out a fat stack of books from the library and get educated on systems change.
What I found gave me hope.
All the ways extractive capitalism is causing harm
I may be biased, because my focus is on building a better world, one ambitious leader at a time…
But I believe that the private sector, and how we do business, is one of the most powerful levers we have to change the world.
It’s rather undeniable that extractive capitalism is a common thread in the biggest crises we face.
What’s extractive capitalism, you ask? It’s like, free market capitalism in its absolute villain era.
It’s how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, faster and more mercilessly than ever, because those at the top control both the markets and the state for their benefit.
Consider the interplay between big business and our greatest threats:
Climate change? Over 70% of global emissions come from the world’s 100 largest companies. Fossil fuel companies have put more than $1 billion into fighting controls on greenhouse gas.
Wealth inequality? Up to $600 billion is lost globally per year due to corporate tax avoidance. Since 1978, CEO compensation has grown by 1,085% while workers’ pay has grown by just 24%.
Mental health? Burnout is now classified as a medical syndrome by the World Health Organization and in the US, nearly 1 in 5 employees reports being in a toxic work environment.
The erosion of democracy? Total lobbying spend exceeds $4 billion per year. It’s no secret that pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, utilities companies, oil and gas and hospitals all put big money into lobbying to protect their profits.
I could go on, but that’s quite depressing enough.
How did capitalism get so corrupted?
As Rebecca Henderson writes in Reimagining Capitalism, this is what you get when the only goal of a company is to maximize shareholder returns.
It wasn’t always this way! See the Business Roundtable quote I featured above. There was a time where the business world felt it had a duty to society.
The profit-above-all maxim took off in the 70s, when oil embargos hit the U.S. economy hard.
Milton Friedman and his associates at the University of Chicago championed a singular focus on shareholders, arguing that maximizing economic growth would also maximize individual freedom.
(This was at a time when the Soviet Union demonstrated a bleak alternative.)
But free market capitalism has always been predicated on certain conditions being met:
The full cost of negative externalities, like pollution, should be priced into the cost of goods.
All participants should have transparency into prices, quality, alternatives, etc.
There should be no collusion.
There should be free entry and exit to the market.
This is blatantly not our reality today, given the monopolistic power of Big Tech and Big Pharma, insider information being used in finance, the exorbitant uncovered cost of externalities, etc.
As Henderson writes, “Markets require adult supervision.”
And we are sorely lacking that.
A roadmap for more ethical business
Henderson also believes that we have the technology and resources for a turnaround.
She breaks down five key components to what I’m terming an ‘Economy of Enough’—a version of capitalism that holds itself responsible for societal welfare, as well as profit.
Creating shared value: Profit matters, but it must earned by solving real problems and generating prosperity that benefits ALL stakeholders—not by externalizing harm.
Building purpose-driven organizations: Employees must be treated as empowered co-creators in realizing a shared purpose, not cogs in a machine.
Rewiring finance: Investment norms must shift to prioritize long-term value over quarterly results, for example, by incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics.
Cooperation and self-regulation: Companies must cooperate to raise the ethical standards in their industry, for example, by collectively eliminating child labor and taking on higher production costs.
Rebuilding our institutions: Democracy needs reinventing. Business and the state must work together. This isn’t Henderson’s focus (nor mine), but roadmaps for that do exist.
The underlying component here is the mechanism of choice—and courage.
We must have the courage to choose differently.
I’ll offer a practical checklist that those of you engaged in business can use to take steps towards this vision down below.
But first, let’s get inspired as to exactly how meaningful and worthwhile such changes can be with one of the best case studies from Henderson’s book.
How one company excelled through ethical changes
Erik Osmundsen became the CEO of Norways’s largest waste handling company, Norsk Gjenvinning, in 2012.
Osmundsen was purpose-driven to his core. He believed his industry was key to addressing climate change, and that its future was in recycling.
Indeed, his position held an outsized opportunity for impact—and when he dug in, he found that corrupt practices were vastly undermining the waste industry’s potential for good.
His own company, as well as competitors, were disposing of waste illegally because—why else? It was cheaper than doing so according to regulation.
One study found that over 85% of all waste transported in Norway at the time violated regulation.
Osmundsen investigated and was effectively told, “That’s how it’s always been.” He was viewed as a naive city guy whose desire for change was financially infeasible.
But he didn’t back down. He secured funding from his board to clean up the corrupt practices, and rolled out a new compliance policy to every employee.
He eventually instituted zero tolerance for non-compliance… and 30 of his top 70 line managers left the company, along with many senior staff.
Again he doubled down on his vision with his remaining team and hired aggressively for purpose-driven leaders from outside the company.
This initiative cost as much as 40 percent of the company’s earnings in the first year.
Osmundsen personally received threats from organized crime syndicates, and the company was threatened with expulsion by the local industry association.
Still, they persisted. Managers who had previously felt powerless in the face of corruption were energized by Osmundsen’s changes.
Norsk Gjenvinning invested in a state-of-the-art optical recycling machine. They were the first company in Norway to do so. Initially, the machine had a capacity of 120,000 tons per year.
Osmundsen’s team doubled that capacity within one year, leading them to have to search outside of Norway for more waste to process.
This led them to expand throughout Scandinavia, diversify their customer base and raise prices—while achieving economies of scale and increasing margins.
Norsk Gjenvinning became one of the largest and most profitable waste companies in Scandinavia.
Way to stick it to your haters, huh?
Not only did Osmundsen achieve his vision of becoming a recycling powerhouse and having significant social impact, he created massive business advantages in doing so.
This is just one example of many where a ‘both/and’ is demonstrated: companies can both be profitable, and do no harm or even contribute to society.
And if my experience coaching dozens upon dozens of high-performing leaders to holistic success is any indicator, the same both/and applies for the individuals within:
You can both be ambitious and excel, and lead a well-rounded, healthy life.
You can help to create an “Economy of Enough”
Here’s where my expertise dovetails with Rebecca Henderson’s. There is a reason behind the “reason” that business is so myopically profit-focused.
It’s not only that top executives benefit from extractive capitalism by lining their pockets.
From the very top of the hierarchy down through middle management and all the way to bottom of the ladder… almost nobody has a sense of ‘enough.’
Instead, most people’s nervous systems are hijacked by a false need to stay busy.
(Or to look good, or be a hard worker, etc.)
The systems behind the system of extractive capitalism are deeply embedded and flawed unconscious programs rooted in patriarchy, colonialism and materialism.
They are symptoms of man’s separation from the natural world, and his own true nature.
A practical checklist for leaders
By far, the most powerful thing you can do to build toward an “Economy of Enough,” in which you and your team get to have a sense of purpose, do cool s**t and actually enjoy it is to calibrate your nervous system and your unconscious mind to have ‘enough’ on the inside first.
Check out my post on how somatic hypnosis can help you to do that.
In terms of practical steps, here’s a checklist for you to apply inside your organization:
✅ Founder’s Ethical Business Checklist
Inspired by Rebecca Henderson’s Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire
🌱 1. Create Shared Value
Have I defined success beyond profit—does my company exist to solve a real human or planetary need?
Do my business practices benefit not just shareholders, but workers, customers, suppliers, and communities?
Have I accounted for (and reduced) the harm we might be externalizing—on people, ecosystems, or local economies?
🎯 2. Build a Purpose-Driven Organization
Is our purpose clear, actionable, and felt across the organization—not just written on a wall?
Do we hire, promote, and reward based on values as well as performance?
Are we brave enough to take purpose-aligned actions even when they don’t maximize short-term profit?
💸 3. Rewire Finance
Are we optimizing for long-term value creation, not just quarterly returns?
Do our investors or funders support our mission—or pressure us to cut corners?
Have we considered alternative ownership or funding models (e.g. steward ownership, ethical VC, revenue-based financing)?
🤝 4. Cooperate and Self-Regulate
Are we engaged in cross-sector coalitions to raise industry standards (e.g. on climate, labor, or DEI)?
Do we set voluntary internal benchmarks that exceed legal requirements?
Can we be transparent about failures and learn publicly—setting an example others can follow?
🏛️ 5. Rebuild Trust in Institutions
Do we pay our fair share in taxes and avoid aggressive loopholes or offshoring?
Are we advocating for policies that strengthen democracy, sustainability, and human rights—even when inconvenient?
Do we use our influence (public voice, lobbying dollars, political donations) in alignment with our values?
⚠️ Red Flags to Watch For:
Am I prioritizing investor appeasement over real-world impact?
Are we using “purpose” to mask extractive or harmful practices?
Are our diversity, sustainability, or wellness efforts performative or underfunded?
Do I feel secretly ashamed of how we make money?
Am I role-modeling ‘enough’ for my team by taking time off, encouraging boundaries around communication and allowing important work even if that means sacrificing urgent things?
If this post strikes a chord and you’re ready to detox from extractive capitalism and create your own sense of ‘enough,’ join me in Achievement Rehab.
We’ll rewire your nervous system and unconscious mind so you can lead well, and live well, too.
