icnb 2026 Session 1

Session 1: Economics in an Age of Ethical Uncertainty: Nation-Building amid Blurred Morality

This conference session aims to delve into the intricate relationships between economics, ethical uncertainty, and the evolving landscape of nation-building. As moral boundaries continue to shift in response to technological innovation, global tensions, and social transformation, it becomes increasingly important to understand how these blurred ethical lines shape economic choices and influence national development. This session will bring together experts in economics, public policy, and ethics to discuss the impact of ethical ambiguity on economic systems, explore strategies for navigating moral uncertainty in nation-building, and highlight the potential for ethical frameworks to guide more resilient and inclusive economic futures.

Moderator:

Main idea: Framing and moderating the panel discussion on the complexities of navigating global economics, geopolitics, and nation-building during a time of moral ambiguity and technological transformation.
Important points:

Setting the theme:
He introduces the central conflict of the session—how modern economics and nation-building operate under "ethical uncertainty" and "blurred morality."
Facilitating transdisciplinary dialogue:
He coordinates a hybrid panel of global experts across economics, philosophy, and ethics, bridging both on-site and remote international perspectives to find solutions to global challenges.

Asst Prof Dr Tobias Endress
Professor of School of Management at Asian Institute of Technology

Speakers:

Main idea: The global economy has entered a highly volatile, fragmented "G-zero" era of imperialistic resource competition and severe stock market bubbles that will inevitably culminate in a systemic financial crisis and subsequent structural reset.
Important points:

The G-Zero world and eroded multilateralism:
Global institutions (G7, G20) have lost their efficacy, giving way to a fractured global landscape defined by a fierce geopolitical confrontation between the US and China.
The gap between Wall Street greed and Main Street pessimism:
An unsustainable divergence has formed between record-high speculative stock indexes (such as the surging semiconductor index) and historically low consumer confidence.
New imperialism for AI resources:
An unsustainable divergence has formed between record-high speculative stock indexes (such as the surging semiconductor index) and historically low consumer confidence.
Impending global financial shock:
Skyrocketing gold prices driven by central banks and a declining global trust in the US dollar signal an impending financial crisis that will reset international monetary architecture.
AI as a balanced opportunity:
If steered using a moral framework, the AI shock can be leveraged positively to improve global education, foster economic convergence, and address actual human needs.

1. Dr Andrei Radulescu
International Senior Macroeconomist at Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy

Main idea: To overcome severe global polarization, nations must transition away from "power-first" or "money-first" mentalities and commit to a value-driven "global balance" anchored in existing constitutional preambles, human rights, and sustainable development goals.
Important points:

A path of global balance:
A structured framework is required to balance opposing global forces—such as blending individual freedom with social solidarity, or innovation with stability—to mitigate dangerous societal polarization.
Three world views:
Global interactions are currently driven by three competing lenses: "my power first," "my money first," or the ethical alternative, "our common values first".
Resource control and power concentration:
Political and corporate power are highly concentrated around critical supply chains, such as the heavy international dependency on rare metals like cobalt.
Constitutions and global goals as moral anchors:
Despite rapid societal shifts, legally binding constitutional preambles, human rights charters, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remain solid, internationally agreed-upon benchmarks.
Enforcing ESG compliance:
Modern business is not a free ride; corporate value chains must be strictly bound to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards via market incentives, media surveillance, and legal sanctions.

2. Prof Dr Christoph Stückelberger
President and Founder at Globethics.net Foundation, Professor Em. of Ethics at University of Basel, Switzerland

Main idea: Morality under capitalism should be analyzed as an empirical phenomenon of "moral change" and "moral restructuring" rather than a simple narrative of moral decline, recognizing that even fraudulent and harmful practices possess their own internal moral codes.
Important points:

Capitalism as a moral order:
Capitalism is actively constituted by specific moral beliefs, norms, and rhetoric rather than being entirely amoral or destructive
Moral change over moral decline:
It is analytical and more productive to look at how dominant moral norms shift and restructure over time under neoliberalism, rather than assuming society is experiencing a total moral crisis or decay.
Morals are not always pro-social:
In empirical reality, moral codes can prescribe and justify exploitation, fraud, and deception if those actions serve to maximize profits or protect an organization.
Morality as an empirical phenomenon:
Evaluating ethics requires ground-level, empirical fieldwork within corporate offices and factories rather than relying strictly on abstract desk research or philosophy.
Economic reform acts as moral reform:
When governments liberalize or restructure an economic sector, they inherently alter the operational norms and acceptable behavioral boundaries within that sector over time.

3. Assoc Prof Jorg Wiegratz, PhD
Associate Professor of Global Political Economy and Development, University of Leeds, England

Main idea: Modern nations are facing an impending digital tsunami ("techno-feudalism") and severe ecological tipping points ("the necrocene") that demand a transition from mere technical skill to deep Socratic wisdom and prudence.
Important points:

Ethical unblurring via intellectual virtues:
Advanced technological deployment requires human wisdom, prudence, and deep insight, rather than relying solely on raw scientific knowledge or technical skill.
The ontological reality of nested sustainability:
Many fail to understand that businesses cannot exist without a society, and societies cannot survive without a functioning biosphere.
The paradox of digital sustainability:
Unlike ecological sustainability (which seeks an equilibrium), digital sustainability is progressive and requires exponentially more energy and hardware, directly accelerating environmental destruction.
The shift to techno-feudalism:
Global capitalism is evolving into a system where a handful of digital oligopolists (feudal lords) control the vital tech infrastructure and dictate cultural and political directions.
Erosion of state sovereignty:
Nation-states are rapidly losing control over digital platforms and lack the foundational understanding needed to govern accelerating, deterministic technologies.

4. Assoc Prof Dr Roman Meinhold
Associate Professor of Philosophy (Business Administration Division), Mahidol University International College

Main idea: Ethics is an invisible yet essential infrastructure required for markets and nation-building to function, which is currently threatened by the immense power of private transnational tech corporations and the trust-eroding capabilities of AI.
Important points:

The economic necessity of trust:
Markets do not run on capital alone; they require predictability, fairness, and the rule of law (such as in Singapore) to reduce transaction costs and foster investment.
Pillars of a moral society:
A stable moral society requires three fundamental foundations: safeguarding individual human dignity, promoting justice, and making fraternity possible.
Non-neutrality of markets and tech:
Technology, financial instruments, and regulatory systems are never morally empty; they mirror the character of the entities that design, finance, and use them.
The rise of private transnational power:
Large private entities (like Google and Amazon) hold resources and capacities that surpass many governments, making it incredibly difficult to direct their power toward the common good.
AI as an amplifier of disinformation:
While content manipulation is older than AI, modern digital platforms amplify fake narratives, blurring the line between fact and opinion and severely damaging social trust.
Value capture versus value creation:
Modern corporate innovation frequently prioritizes "value capture" (wealth extraction, manipulation, and externalizing social costs) over "value creation" (genuine societal contribution).

5. Mr Thibault Danjou
International Consultant, Member of the Investment Committee of Phitrust Asia