Publisher Description
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.
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This powerful and readable book is a clarion call for reimagining and remaking capitalism. The market economy, which used to generate rapid productivity growth and shared prosperity, has done much less of that over the last four decades. The shifting balance of power in favor of large companies and lobbies, the gutting of basic regulations, the increasing ability of corporations and the very rich to get their way in every domain of life, and the unwillingness of the government to step up to protect its weakest citizens are likely responsible for low productivity growth and ballooning inequality in the US economy. Rebecca Henderson argues that the market system can be reformed and this can be done without unduly harming corporations. We can have a more moral and more innovative capitalism. There is hope!
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Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations FailÂ
