This report argues that the private sector has an indispensable and influential role in achieving a future free of racial and economic inequality in the US. Outlines guidelines to help business leaders and stakeholders articulate the need for corporate priorities on equity.

This deep-dive paper is a collaboration between Earth4All, the Predistribution Initiative (PDI), Beyond Bretton Woods (BBW), and Africa Investor (Ai) and focuses on the role that capital markets investors can play in building a more regenerative and inclusive economy that supports the long-term wellbeing of people and nature. Building on the 2022 report to The Club of Rome, Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity, this paper provides concrete proposals for how institutional investors can support systemic change.

The Grand Bargain Project finds that Americans across party lines identify the same six priorities—economic opportunity, education, healthcare, national debt, clean energy, and tax reform—as critical, with surveys showing over 90% agreement on their importance. Even more encouraging, when comparing the status quo to a shared package of 35 reforms, 77% preferred the reforms. These results point to rare cross-partisan convergence on both the problems and potential solutions, and a possible place for constructive engagement. 

This volume explores the promise of free markets to deliver prosperity and well-being—and the social, political, and institutional conditions required to sustain that promise. It shows why businesses have a stake in helping maintain those conditions through responsible political engagement.

Interviews with 48 Americans from across ideological and demographic groups reveal broad commonality in wanting fairness and clear expectations of government—such as equal rule enforcement, responsive leadership, transparent decision-making, and dignified public services. At the same time, people diverge on what constitutes fairness, with some emphasizing opportunity, others consistent process, and others tangible outcomes that prove fairness is real. Provides a starting point for stakeholder engagement, and suggests approaches that speak to concerns across the political spectrum.