Abstract

We have seen that there are social investment vehicles in which the goal pursued goes beyond mere profit. Perhaps it is because I believe in them; perhaps it is because my role as a professor obliges me to educate young people, but I have faith that something good can emerge from all this—even if it is only a limited reality at the moment. It looks like a promising new route to direct private savings towards new paths. It facilitates the flow of savings towards social purposes without aggravating public finances. It is my intention to spread the word. If investors know that they can invest their earnings “well”—in helping rather than destroying—perhaps we can hope to build a better world. And when I talk about destruction, I don’t just mean military destruction; I’m not just thinking about weapons but anything that can ruin the world, both in human and environmental terms. These bonds can be used to diversify the financial portfolio but also as an alternative to charity. If the initiative is a success, the investor benefits twice: via the return and also the knowledge that they have contributed to a good cause. And even if the initiative fails, you still have the knowledge that you attempted to do something worthwhile, in which you truly believed. As Mother Teresa of Kolkata said: “what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop”.