Pelosi urges shift in U.S., capitalism in London speech

LONDON — For some, the economic philosophy of capitalism is synonymous with America.

But the concept is in urgent need of being improved and has not served the United States’ economy as well as it could, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told an audience in London on Friday.

“In America, capitalism is our system, it is our economic system, but it has not served our economy as well as it should,” she told guests at an event at the international affairs think tank Chatham House. “So what we want to do is not depart from that, but to improve it and to make sure that it serves us.”

Pelosi praised traditional “stakeholder capitalism” in the United States, which she said had historically allowed workers’ wages, as well as management’s, to rise alongside productivity. But she criticized the economic shift that has taken hold over the past few decades to favor “shareholder capitalism,” which she said often causes employee salaries to stagnate, “and that’s just not right,” she said.

“You cannot have a system where the success of some springs from the exploitation of the workers and springs from the exploitation of the environment and the rest, and we have to correct that,” she said.

Nonetheless, Pelosi said things are changing.

“I do think there’s a growing awareness, even in the private sector, that we have to do better,” she said.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a number of countries to grapple with core issues such as rising inequality, the role of government and welfare for average citizens.