Reimagining Capitalism

Reimagining Capitalism

Shortlisted for the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2020

Summary

LONGLISTED FOR FT & MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020

WHAT IF BUSINESS COULD HELP SOLVE THE GREATEST PROBLEMS OF OUR TIME?


Free market capitalism is one of humanity's greatest inventions and the greatest source of prosperity the world has ever seen. At the same time, its single-minded pursuit of profit has led to rampant inequality and the looming threat of climate catastrophe - and now threatens to destroy the society on which it depends.
Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, argues that business can simultaneously make a positive impact on the world by confronting the realities of our environmental crisis and the need to address social and economic inequality, while also delivering the sustained economic growth that brings prosperity and wellbeing to society as a whole.


Drawing on lessons from companies from around the world who are already making a positive difference, Reimagining Capitalism shows that this new approach is not only a moral imperative but also an extraordinary opportunity to drive growth and innovation in an increasingly competitive world. And, perhaps most critically, she suggests that it has the potential to balance the power of the market with the power of democratic, accountable government and strong civil society - the only long term solution to the problems that we face.

"This powerful and readable book is a clarion call for reimagining and remaking capitalism. We can have a more moral and more innovative capitalism. There is hope!" -Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail

Reviews

  • 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!
    Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail

About the author

Rebecca Henderson

Rebecca Henderson is the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University and teaches the Reimagining Capitalism course at Harvard Business School. She is a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and is a member of the British Academy and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Henderson is an advisor to some of the world's leading companies and a board member of Amgen and IDEXX Laboratories. The Financial Times recently named her a 'director of the year.'
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