Navigating the economic paradigm in the 5.0 era: Leadership choices between moral and capital economic approaches for global economic sustainability

Abstract

In the era of Society 5.0, leaders in various sectors face a critical challenge in choosing the appropriate economic paradigm: whether to adopt a moral economy approach that focuses on social justice and public welfare, or a capital economy that emphasizes market efficiency and profit-based growth. This paper explores the leadership dilemma in navigating these paradigms by analyzing economic development and social welfare through the approaches of moral economy and capital economy. The methodology used is a qualitative approach through a critical literature review by examining the cases of countries that implement moral economy (such as Scandinavia) and capital economy (such as the United States and China) to understand the impact of these paradigms in the 5.0 era. The results of the analysis show that moral economy, although it offers greater inclusiveness and welfare, faces challenges in terms of efficiency and global competitiveness. In contrast, capital economy is able to drive rapid growth, but often sacrifices social justice. This paper recommends the integration of the positive aspects of both paradigms to achieve sustainable and balanced economic development in the era of Society 5.0.