José Ferraz : Concerns…

Concern is a natural human response to challenges, uncertainties and injustices that threaten individual and collective well-being. When something concerns us, we are inevitably affected, mobilizing thoughts and actions.
Because I care, I decided to write this short sharing text with my readers.
What worries me involves and, honestly, I don’t feel very at ease with what I see every day in the world, in Portugal and in the market in which I move.

War worries because it is the most tragic expression of human conflict. It implies not only material destruction, but also and mainly the loss of lives, dreams and dignity. War shakes the foundations of coexistence and creates an environment where fear and violence predominate. It wounds the social fabric, leaving deep scars, which do not fade with the end of battles. War must worry and impose the search for diplomatic and peaceful solutions, instigating humanity to question the need for a new global ethic of coexistence between different faiths, races and genders.
The lack of ethics worries, because it erodes the foundations of trust and justice. When morality dissolves, society gets sick. The lack of ethics in institutions, governments or interpersonal relationships creates an environment of mistrust, where truth becomes relative and integrity optional.
The impact of this is the weakening of the values that support a fair and solidary coexistence. The concern with ethics is, therefore, a search for responsibility and for a more conscious action of each individual within their community.
Business concerns me the lack of ethics, greed, misinformation, misleading practices and lying. I have always understood, as a person and an entrepreneur, that it is possible to do business without ever endangering ethics, morals and good customs, thus safeguarding the good relations of coexistence between companies and entrepreneurs, even if they are competitors.
Unfair competition distorts the essence of effort and merit. When unfair practices prevail, equality of opportunity disappears. Those who work honestly see their efforts devalued and those who act unscrupulously often gain illicit advantages, turning business practices into wars. This imbalance creates a sense of powerlessness and injustice, undermining healthy economic development and desirable business cohesion.
Business ethics is required, in the name of the good of companies and a more ethical and balanced society.
I am also concerned about the growing social inequality, especially because the destruction of the middle class has been exponential. People live worse, money loses speed of circulation, becoming concentrated in “half a dozen”, impoverishing the weakest and enriching the richest, who, in some cases, seem to have no limits to their greed and pride.
I am concerned, in the same line of thought, about the difficulty of welcoming and integrating the immigrant community, which is so lacking in Portugal’s economic development.
It is essential that we do not forget that when inequalities are accentuated, deep divisions are generated, fueling social exclusion and perpetuating cycles of poverty that are difficult to break. This affects not only the most vulnerable, but the entire social fabric, creating an environment of insecurity, instability and mistrust.
Social inequality, which tends to increase with the growth of the immigrant population (more than 800,000 in recent times), requires an urgent and integrated response to redistribute opportunities, guarantee livelihoods and a minimum of dignity for all.
A country that quickly and adequately integrates its immigrants, offering them fair working conditions and educational opportunities, offers companies the opportunity to hire more stable and diversified resources.
On the other hand, a more ethical business community, cleaner of dishonest practices, lies and guerrilla environments favors a stronger business fabric, creating better and more sustainable employment and helping a more modern, dynamic and fair society flourish.
A concluding thought:
We must not devalue what is ours! Being an open society, some tend to value what comes from outside, devaluing what is done inside and which, in reality, is often better than what comes from outside…
To this, often, the lack of ethics is joined by dishonest guerrilla practices, lying and launching rumors, generating animosities among peers. This is, in my opinion, a regrettable commercial practice, very outdated and unintelligent…

Portugal and Portuguese entrepreneurs deserve better.
Much more!