"Peter Georgescu explains how his American Dream journey-from refugee to the CEO of Young & Rubicam-is no longer possible, and the underlying culprit is shareholder primacy. The income gap is growing larger and larger, and Georgescu argues that only a return to a true form of capitalism will begin to decrease that gap.
Peter Georgescu is scared, as are some of his more farsighted fellow millionaires and billionaires-not 'of Al Qaeda or the vicious Islamic State or some other evolving radical group . . . We are afraid of where income inequality will lead.'
So begins both his 2015 op-ed piece in the New York Times, which generated over 1,000 comments, and this book. Georgescu believes the capitalism that allowed a penniless refugee like him to rise to the top no longer exists. He vividly depicts the damage income inequality is doing and examines the trends and developments that have led to our current crisis. He argues to his fellow capitalists that they are the ones best positioned to fix this problem because they can directly address it. They need to look beyond a single-minded focus on maximizing the short-term profits their shareholders demand and serve the interests of all their stakeholders-employees, customers, society, and the environment. This book offers solutions, which are deep, rich, and compelling."
"We live in a most challenging time. Many of us struggle, emotionally, ethically, and spiritually. We seem headed toward less compassion and consideration, failing to overcome that basic instinct that often leads to evil in human behavior—self-preservation at all costs. Yet within each of us a new future is stirring. We can become better people and build a better world by opting for good over evil—one choice at a time.
In The Constant Choice, Peter Georgescu offers a gripping narrative of his journey from childhood captivity in a Romanian labor camp to his role as CEO of the world-renowned advertising agency Young & Rubicam. His traumatic youth—his parents’ exile from their homeland, his grandfather’s murder in prison, his neighbors’ betrayal of one another—led to a lifelong struggle to grasp humanity’s moral nature. Despite his conviction when he arrived on American soil that he had reached the land of the good, he discovered a more subtle evil at work all around him. Yet he also thrived through the generosity of one benefactor after another. Goodness, he found, isn’t inherent; it evolves from daily choice.
Through decades of reflection on human behavior, as well as philosophical and spiritual exploration, Peter arrived at a new perspective on the significance of our habitual choices. Every decision we make alters our biological nature, for better or worse—a model that has been confirmed by recent science.
The Constant Choice reveals a path for changing who we are and the future of humanity. It’s up to each of us to become activists for good."
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