Capitalism’s Reckoning

Why Larry Fink’s ‘Second Draft of Globalisation’ Must Not Be Defined by Those Who Broke It & Capitalism

On June 3, 2025, Larry Fink, Chair and CEO of BlackRock, published a striking article in the Financial Times titled "It’s time for the second draft of globalisation." In it, he offers a remarkably frank admission that the dominant model of globalisation, and by extension, modern capitalism, has failed to deliver for large segments of society.

The piece represents a watershed moment, not only for what it says but for who is saying it: the head of the world’s largest institutional investor, BlackRock, which manages over $10 trillion in assets as of 2025 and holds unmatched influence across global capital markets.

Paul Barnett, Founder of the Enlightened Enterprise Academy, responded to the article with praise for its frankness but a cautionary note: “For ‘globalisation,’ read also ‘capitalism,’” he says. And he adds….

“Fink’s letter is the first frank admission from one of the world’s most powerful financial leaders that capitalism has failed many, caused extreme inequality. He indicates that he may give a damn about the growing social instability and populist political turmoil being fuelled by these trends.”

Barnett warns, however, that those responsible for creating the current system cannot be the ones to define its replacement. Instead, he proposes an alternative, Participatory Learning Networks (PLNs) - multi-sector, multi-disciplinary forums rooted in inclusion, co-creation, and ethical transformation.

Fink’s Key Admissions: Where Globalisation (i.e. Capitalism) Failed

Fink’s article makes several sobering acknowledgments that mark a profound shift in elite economic discourse:

• “The Trump administration’s tariffs are the symptom of a backlash to the era of what might be called ‘globalism without guardrails.’”

• “Global GDP grew more since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 than in all recorded history before it. But the benefits weren’t evenly shared.”

• “S&P 500 investors saw a return of more than 3,800 per cent. Rustbelt workers did not.”

• “Markets often chased returns around the world without necessarily benefiting the people back home.”

• “Unchecked, financialisation can fuel inequality.”

These are not minor criticisms. They represent a fundamental questioning of the economic order Fink and the instition he is CEO of helped shape. And importantly, the problems he highlights are not singular, they are many, varied, and highly complex.