Turning Crapitalism into Constructive Capitalism: TANDO Institute’s story. Our founder’s immigrant family fled Bolshevism, settling in the United States. He fell in love with American democratic capitalism, but saw it could be improved. He dedicated himself to that task, periodically measuring public attitudes and values, and keeping current with the latest technologies. He established the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, and recruited Institute Fellows from around the world who shared a unique philosophy:
• Positive change comes jointly from technological advance and from change in social values.
• This change happens first in cities, and to a great extent is driven by entrepreneurship.
• That in turn is driven by interdisciplinary research, and by researchers who want to see their work have an impact on society and markets.
• Research should be accompanied by action. “Think and Do.”
IC2 initially stood for “Institute for Constructive Capitalism.” This name raised eyebrows on the political left (“No, capitalism is destructive!”) and on the right (“How dare you imply capitalism could be anything but constructive?”). To emphasize the Institute’s and the Fellows’ nonpartisan positioning, IC2 was thenceforth read as “Innovation, Creativity, and Capital.” The Institute brought to the fore its work on “Shared Prosperity,” aimed at bringing opportunity to US and international communities that traditional capitalism had ill-served.
Our founder Dr. George Kozmetsky became legend, as the dean who turned UT’s business college from a small regional accounting school to a world force in management research; as an early pioneer techno-entrepreneur billionaire; as mentor to Michael Dell; and as winner of the US National Medal of Technology. He led the Fellows and other community leaders in transforming Austin from a sleepy university and state government town into the exemplary echo of Silicon Valley that it is today.
Dr. K passed away 20 years ago. Eighty of his Global Fellows separated from UT, incorporating as TANDO Institute, an independent, non-profit thinktank/consultancy, dedicated to preserving, updating, and applying Dr. K’s philosophy to today's big problems of technology, business, government, and society. www.tando.org #tando #kozmetsky #democracy #capitalism
