Tara Anderson, Social Traders CEO, reflects on Treasurer, Jim Chalmers essay 'Capitalism after the crises'.

It shouldn’t be surprising to hear a political leader talking with ease and passion about economic equality and equal opportunities for disadvantaged communities. But it is.

The essay in The Monthly from Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is bold, visionary, and brave. He’s had the courage to put his head above the pulpit, and stand up for – brace yourselves - a values-based economy. And he’s taken a few hits as a result.

But what he’s talking about isn’t actually that revolutionary. He’s suggesting that the Commonwealth should govern in ways that improve the lives of people to create a “more resilient, more cohesive and more purposeful economy”.

What’s exciting about this proposal is that many of the mechanisms to move in that direction are already in front of us. They just need to be unlocked.

We often talk about social enterprise being a best kept secret. Social enterprises are proof that it’s entirely possible to blend business and purpose and deliver both in tandem. And when business and government partner with social enterprise, social dividends are created.

Chalmers talks about carefully constructed markets being a positive and powerful tool. And the need to reimagine and redesign them so they deliver value and impact.

We’ve seen that possibility and impact firsthand. We work with over 130 of Australia’s leading businesses and four state/territory governments. These are businesses who have made the deliberate choice to buy from social enterprises. Collectively they’ve spent nearly $400 million on products and services that have in-built social dividend.

Just by doing what they would have done anyway (buying products and services their business needs) they have supported the most marginalised people in our communities. Together they’ve supported over 2,700 jobs, 550k hours of job training, delivered $20 million in community services and seen $6 million donated to charity. And by doing that, they’ve transformed business expenses into assets (impact outcomes).

And here’s the thing - “healthy economies rely on healthy people and communities”.

Economists have shown that inclusion is a precondition for a robust economy. When economic growth is predicated on equality and equal opportunity, everyone wins. It’s a no-brainer.

Conversely, “by failing to put values at the forefront of how our economies work… we diminish our ability to create value in the first place.”

This is about both/and. It’s about “outcomes that are broader than, but not instead of, traditional measures of economic strength”. The beauty of the social enterprise model is that by blending traditional business with social outcomes, neither are compromised and both are possible.

Perhaps the most poignant part of Chalmers’ essay is his connection to our fundamental humanity. People are looking for a “more conscious sense of wellbeing”. People don’t want to return to ‘normal’. “There’s a genuine appetite among so many forward-looking businesspeople and investors for something more aligned with their values.”

We know this is true, because we see it at Social Traders.

Every day we talk with the champions and change-agents within some of Australia’s largest businesses who are changing the game, from the inside out.

These are the people who know, as the Treasurer does, that the private sector is key and central to sustainable growth. They know that the type of growth, and how its distributed, matters. And they know that the only way to reimagine how our economy functions is to do it together, with partnerships across sectors.

Social enterprise is one part of the mosaic of solutions to build a fairer and more equitable Australia. Our hope is that social enterprises – businesses for good – will become business as usual. So years from now we’ll look back and wonder why it was ever any different.

I’ve been accused of being too idealistic. But in my experience practical idealism is exactly what we’re lacking. Or in the Treasurer’s words – a combination of “optimism and realism”.

If we harness our collective ambition and aspiration, we can redefine and reform our economy. As the Treasurer says, this is our big challenge, and our big chance.

We look forward to partnering with the Federal Government to get there.

We have an ambition to contribute to a fairer and equitable Australia, through the opportunity of social enterprise. We’re calling for investment in social enterprise certification, social enterprise data and unlocking access to markets for social enterprise.

Read the Social Traders pre-budget submission to the Federal Government: