2025 Global Capitalism, Trust, and Accountability Conference
The Program on Capitalism and Democracy held its 2025 Inaugural Conference on Global Capitalism, Trust and Accountability, convening a international community of legal scholars, economists, political scientists, historians, business experts, journalists, and activists for two days of urgent discussion and intellectual exchange.
Co-sponsored by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), the event served as both a launchpad for future research and a forum for probing the evolving relationship between capitalism and democracy. Through keynote addresses, expert panels, and interactive group discussions, participants explored the growing power of global capital and the challenges it poses to democratic accountability.
A central theme running through the conference was the question of trust: why it matters in global markets, why it remains so elusive, and how both trust and trustworthiness might be restored. By the close of the event, a shared sense of purpose emerged to build a collaborative, interdisciplinary research and policy agenda that addresses the structural imbalances of global capitalism and strengthens democratic institutions for the 21st century.
Conference organizers: Anat Admati (George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics, GSB, and Faculty Director of the Capitalism and Democracy Program at CDDRL) and Didi Kuo (Center Fellow, CDDRL).
Introduction and Opening Remarks
Stanford academic leaders and faculty experts welcome conference participants: Peter DeMarzo, Philip H. Knight Professor and Graduate School of Business Dean (Interim), Kathryn Stoner, Mosbacher Director, CDDRL. Didi Kuo, Center Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute, and Anat Admati, George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics, GSB.
Session 1: Why Trustworthy Governments are Essential
Session 1 shows how weak enforcement, political favoritism, and financial loopholes erode trust, distort markets, and enable corruption. Experts trace patterns of elite impunity, democratic backsliding, and the global systems that protect illicit wealth, drawing on both historical insight and present-day challenges.
Session 2: Opacity and Illicit Flows
Session 2 examines the hidden infrastructure of illicit finance: offshore accounts, shell companies, and the gatekeepers who make them possible. Panelists reveal how weak enforcement and U.S. laws sustain secrecy, fueling global corruption and democratic decline, and offer proposals to improve oversight and accountability.
Keynote: Investigating “the Brazen”
Investigative journalist Tom Wright details the global web of corruption behind the 1MDB scandal, revealing how billions were looted from a Malaysian state fund with the aid of elite banks, shell companies, and celebrity enablers. He warns that weak enforcement and absent accountability leave the system vulnerable to the next scandal.
Keynote: Is Cryptocurrency a Racket?
Drawing on decades of courtroom experience, Judge Jed Rakoff argues that crypto’s opacity, weak regulation, and speculative frenzy have turned it into a haven for fraud, money laundering, and manipulation. He illustrates how investors have lost billions and why current laws remain ill-equipped to prevent the next collapse.
Session 3: The Law and Politics of Fighting Corruption
Session 3 investigates why traditional legal systems often fail in the fight against corruption, and what it takes to change both institutional behavior and social norms. Panelists trace global cases, illustrating how corruption persists even in seemingly strong institutions.
Session 4: Greed, Norms, Culture, and Trust
Session 4 panelists discuss how corruption persists when formal rules are undercut by eroding norms, political polarization, and compromised trust in institutions. The conversation underscores the need for cultural change, ethical leadership, and stronger networks of accountability.
Session 5: Corporate Misconduct and the Law
Session 5 confronts the legal and institutional failures that allow corporate misconduct to persist, even in systems designed to prevent it. Panelists dissect why serious harm rarely results in serious consequences, and what it would take to shift accountability from symbolic gestures to real deterrence.
Session 6: Round Table: What Academics, Activists, and the Media Can Do
Session 6 offered a forum for participants to explore how academics, activists, and journalists can better align efforts to advance accountability in global capitalism. Small group discussions focused on leveraging each sector’s strengths to build a fairer, more trustworthy economic system for the 21st century.