PLENARY REMARKS BY BRUCE KLATSKY
Chairman and CEO of
Thank you very much. It's an enormous pleasure and honor for me to offer a few remarks this evening. It's particularly humbling to share the stage with such an auspicious group and, importantly to me, to participate in an evening honoring one of the great men of our era, Mr. David Rockefeller, a man who personifies in his actions in life everything we are here to study and acknowledge.
The theme of this evening's discussions, "Bridging Social and Economical Divides" is one of the most important issues of our time. The events of September 11 shifted attention of governments across the globe to the threat of terrorism. But just as important as combating that scourge is a broader recognition of the plight of the disenfranchised and oppressed throughout the world, particularly in developing economies. If we're to prevent the hatred and despair that breeds terrorism, we must do more to bring prosperity and hope to the people in need. There's no more important focus for institutions of all types than to acknowledge and advance the fundamental human rights of everyone who occupies this planet.
All of us in this room have witnessed the replacement of totalitarian communism with democratic capitalism in many regions around the world. This sea change has great relevance to the issues of globalization and equity. Corporations more than ever can act to increase equity, fairness and prosperity through business practices. I am very much aware that this discourse on communism, like the ideology itself, is a bit passé now. But the demise of that economic system offers us great lessons.
The socialist economic model was supposed to make the lives of people better. Not only did that system fail but, in many cases, it caused the opposite effect of its objective. It did not uplift the economic lives of the masses. Instead it oppressed the people and suppressed their aspirations in virtually every country it touched. Along the way, the collapse of Marxist ideology left a heavy burden on the shoulders of those of us who consider ourselves capitalists.
Now even at the ripe old age of 55, this fact strikes a chord for me because, in spite of this hairstyle that you see before you, I was a product of the long-haired radicalism of the 1960s in the United States, and I am proud of that. I am equally proud to call myself a "dyed-in-the-wool capitalist" today.
People throughout the world can only work towards improving their standards of living by being able to take advantage of business opportunities offered under capitalism. My grandparents traveled from Russia in steerage to be able to live and work in the United States of America. Through the wondrous system that this nation provided, they were able to make a better life for themselves, their children and their grandchildren. As businesspeople we must continue the evolution of capitalism and rapidly fill the void left by the collapse of communism. We must create opportunities for people all over the world, similar to those that we have enjoyed here in the United States. As businesspeople seeking to compete on a global basis we can do nothing less than provide clean, healthy work environments, where people are free of fear and intimidation. We can do nothing less than help create a middle class in economies that have none. We can do nothing less than improve and protect the environment in places where it has been degraded. And we can do nothing less than seek to uplift the lives of people in countries where governments aspired to the function and have failed.
Let me be direct about capitalism's motivation for this approach. Profit is at the core of whatever success we will have in fulfilling this mission. We make money. We hire people. That is the key equation. But we must also understand that, as we seek to do business around the world, our responsibilities do not stop at the doors of our factories. We must understand that if we are to benefit from the communities in which we do business, then those communities must benefit from our presence. They must benefit from healthy, clean working environments. Benefit from fair pay, and benefit from our concern for the quality of life of those who work with us.
There is no disconnect between making a profit and caring about the education and health of our associates around the world. I believe, strongly, there's no profit without responsibility. We must know that the countries where we do business are better for our being there. Because ultimately we want to sell shirts in China, not just make them there. We want to sell shoes in the Dominican Republic, not just make them there. We want thousands of middle class consumers in China to love the Calvin Klein brand, the Van-Heusen brand, the Izod brand, the Bass brand. That's my commercial. And we want them to buy them for themselves and for their children. If our presence in China enhances that nation's economy, grows the middle class and generates prosperity, we will sell our products there.
Our experience says that doing the right thing morally, philosophically and socially in these countries is also the right thing for our businesses. They are indeed the predicate to a successful business.
These issues should dominate our thoughts and actions to a greater degree than ever before. For without confronting them, not only will we end up a world full of morally corrupt societies, but civilization, as we know it, will forever be changed by the despair and hopelessness of the disenfranchised. I look forward to this evening's discourse. Thank you.
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Bruce J. Klatsky oversees Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, a 120-year-old enterprise that is one of the world's largest apparel and footwear companies. He led the company's 2002 acquisition of Calvin Klein Inc., adding the brand to other leading names in shirts, footwear and sportswear including Van Heusen, G.H. Bass & Co., and Geoffrey Beene. Mr. Klatsky joined the company as a trainee in 1971, becoming CEO in 1993 and Chairman in 1994. He is a member of the boards of directors of Human Rights Watch, Business for Social Responsibility, Thirteen/WNET and the American Apparel and Footwear Association; a trustee of Case Western Reserve University; and a past member of the Executive Committee of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association. He served on President Clinton's White House Apparel Task Force, which addressed working conditions around the globe, as an advisor on US trade policy to the administrations of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush and as a trustee of the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.