Opinion | Let’s build a more inclusive Hong Kong, and put people’s happiness first

Hong Kong needs to reinvent itself. The national security law has provided some breathing space, but it cannot cure all the ills of Hong Kong society, including widespread frustration over high living costs, unaffordable housing and an economic system that benefits a privileged few but leaves out ordinary people.

The truth is that the extreme form of capitalism that served Hong Kong so well in the 20th century – laissez-faire policies that permitted a blind pursuit of corporate profits – has become counterproductive in the 21st century. Corporate profits and regular people’s happiness show an increasingly negative correlation, and we have to reverse the trend by rebuilding society to be more inclusive.

The city isn’t short of money; it’s short of happiness. According to World Bank data, Hong Kong’s gross domestic product per capita in 2019 was US$48,700, ahead of Britain’s US$42,300, France’s US$40,500 and Japan’s US$40,200.

Hong Kong also has huge reserves, representing the savings of generations, managed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The money belongs to the people of Hong Kong and is meant to fight emergencies, which describes the situation today.

The economic system has to evolve from shareholder capitalism, which focuses on shareholders’ interests, to stakeholder capitalism, which takes responsibility for shareholders, employees, the overall community and the environment. Anti-monopoly legislation has to be strengthened to counter an unpleasant trend in Hong Kong where a wide range of goods and services is sold under oligopolies.