Why power and responsibility?

We all have power. Leaders in government, large companies, the media, and other institutions have considerable power. A decision to commission a new drug, go to war, build a school, attack a reputation, can have widespread consequences: both intended and unintended.

Where there is a concentration of power, there are always some limits, checks and balances to that power. These may include democratic elections, international and domestic law, public opinion, market forces, peer pressure and moral codes as well as physical and practical constraints.

Often these checks and balances feel inadequate, particularly as technological changes have enabled greater centralisation and control, political changes have transferred power from the public sector to the private sector, quangos and the voluntary sector, and economic changes have concentrated more power in the private sector and the large companies that dominate it. In any context, it can be difficult to apportion responsibility accurately, but this is particularly challenging when systems are large and complex.

Since the 1970s, JRCT has funded work looking at the responsibility of business to the wider community. The Trust has also played a part in the development of value-led investments and continues to pursue an active ethical investment policy. Since the late 1980s, the Trust has developed a programme of charitable funding aimed at strengthening democratic processes in the UK.

There have been notable, if qualified, successes in both fields. Corporate responsibility and ethical investment are now widely accepted ideas. Human rights law, freedom of information and devolution have all become part of the political landscape.

In 2004, the Trust took the decision to bring together our previous interests in a new programme to look at the underlying issues of power and responsibility in a more holistic way, across the public and private sectors. The result is this new programme.