Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire

eBook, 336 pages

Published April 27, 2020 by PublicAffairs.

A renowned Harvard professor debunks prevailing orthodoxy with a new intellectual foundation and a practical pathway forward for a system that has lost its moral and ethical foundation.
Free market capitalism is one of humanity's greatest inventions and the greatest source of prosperity the world has ever seen. But this success has been costly. Capitalism is on the verge of destroying the planet and destabilizing society as wealth rushes to the top. The time for action is running short.

Rebecca Henderson's rigorous research in economics, psychology, and organizational behavior, as well as her many years of work with companies around the world, give us a path forward. She debunks the worldview that the only purpose of business is to make money and maximize shareholder value. She shows that we have failed to reimagine capitalism so that it is not only an engine of prosperity but also a system that …

A renowned Harvard professor debunks prevailing orthodoxy with a new intellectual foundation and a practical pathway forward for a system that has lost its moral and ethical foundation.
Free market capitalism is one of humanity's greatest inventions and the greatest source of prosperity the world has ever seen. But this success has been costly. Capitalism is on the verge of destroying the planet and destabilizing society as wealth rushes to the top. The time for action is running short.

Rebecca Henderson's rigorous research in economics, psychology, and organizational behavior, as well as her many years of work with companies around the world, give us a path forward. She debunks the worldview that the only purpose of business is to make money and maximize shareholder value. She shows that we have failed to reimagine capitalism so that it is not only an engine of prosperity but also a system that is in harmony with environmental realities, the striving for social justice, and the demands of truly democratic institutions.

Henderson's deep understanding of how change takes place, combined with fascinating in-depth stories of companies that have made the first steps towards reimagining capitalism, provide inspiring insight into what capitalism can be. Together with rich discussions of important role of government and how the worlds of finance, governance, and leadership must also evolve, Henderson provides the pragmatic foundation for navigating a world faced with unprecedented challenge, but also with extraordinary opportunity for those who can get it right.

3 editions

Ben Waber reviewed Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire by Rebecca Henderson

An Interesting Review of Different Cases of Purpose-Driven Management

3 stars

This book takes a very corporate-focused view of rethinking corporate goals, advocating for enlightened CEOs and investors to drive change. Using a number of intriguing cases, Henderson demonstrates how this has been accomplished (albeit for short timeframes). There is some time spent on unions and government regulation, but it's surprisingly relegated to a very small portion of this book given how central regulation has been in banning things such as child labor, dangerous working conditions, etc. My favorite part of the book was on how accounting practice can aid these efforts by providing validated, non-financial but material metrics to investors.

Importantly, this book was written in 2020. Many of the conclusions now seem quaint given the current environment in the US and backpedaling by most of the firms mentioned here.

This book takes a very corporate-focused view of rethinking corporate goals, advocating for enlightened CEOs and investors to drive change. Using a number of intriguing cases, Henderson demonstrates how this has been accomplished (albeit for short timeframes). There is some time spent on unions and government regulation, but it's surprisingly relegated to a very small portion of this book given how central regulation has been in banning things such as child labor, dangerous working conditions, etc. My favorite part of the book was on how accounting practice can aid these efforts by providing validated, non-financial but material metrics to investors.

Importantly, this book was written in 2020. Many of the conclusions now seem quaint given the current environment in the US and backpedaling by most of the firms mentioned here.

Ben Waber

rated it

April 18

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