Is it Time for Business to Change with the Times?

What It Is: A 2026 issue of the Business & Society Navigator, the newsletter of the Aspen Institute's Business & Society Program, framing how affordability pressure, a U.S. midterm run-up, and political upheaval abroad are changing what people expect of business and its leaders. 

Why It Matters: People are under growing economic strain and are not staying on the sidelines: elections in Brazil, Israel, and Serbia have drawn high turnouts, and protests continue in Europe and India. Private companies now exert power once reserved for heads of state, and an anxious, engaged public is watching how they use it. That is a core Responsibility question for business leaders. 

How to Use It: Use it to open a leadership or board conversation on how your company's political and societal influence is being read by employees, customers, and communities, and whether your public affairs practices hold up under that scrutiny.