The Denny Center for Democratic Capitalism

Over the last 200 years, free market capitalism has proven itself as an unmatched engine for driving economic growth in the United States and around the world, and yet big problems persist, including uneven economic opportunities, degradation of natural resources, and questions of corporate integrity when profits appear to be the sole motivator.

The Denny Center’s primary work is to evaluate the relative balance of economic performance and societal health and stability. To that end, we measure both business results and the needs of society, to highlight the tensions present in the existing system, and search for potential solutions, especially those that consider all stakeholders and favor long-term objectives to measure success.

To carry out its mission, the Denny Center pursues work in three areas:

  1. Conducting and publishing research including the center’s signature annual report card to analyze the current health of democratic capitalism;
  2. Convening leading voices from business, government and society (both public and private sectors) to discuss existing tensions and recommend new paths forward;
  3. Creating student experiences to enrich their education, engage them in the center’s work, and prepare them for lifelong contributions.

Georgetown Law provides the ideal home for the Denny Center given its esteemed faculty, strategic location, vast resource base, and outstanding student body.

Denny Center Publishes Inaugural Report

Capitalism generates growing total wealth, produces new innovations, and provides jobs. However, pressures include growing gaps in incomes, a slowdown in upward mobility, inadequate stewardship of natural resources, a decline in business investment, and a decreasing quality of market competition.

Growing Costs of Inaction: Climate-Related Disruptions in Global Supply Chain

In Part 3 of the center’s series on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, Student Fellow Sophia Fossali analyzes supply chain risk, disruptions from extreme weather, and other climate-related effects.

How the Industrial Revolution Shaped Modern Capitalism

Looking for more on economic history? Check out Denny Center Student Fellow Ian Stubbs' overview of the Industrial Revolution and how trends of the time have shaped modern capitalism.

Inevitable Bailouts: Prioritizing Democratic Capitalism in Times of Crisis

Check out Denny Center Student Fellow Connor Jobes' piece on bailouts, planning for economic crises, and designing policies to prioritize the values of democratic capitalism.