Capitalism at the Crossroads (book recommendation)

[Miss Mia]

Capitalism at the Crossroads

This is required reading this term at my university and it's pretty interesting.  Here's a review off of Amazon:

Book Review--Capitalism at the Crossroads: The Unlimited Business Opportunities in Solving the World's Most Difficult Problems
    by William Baue

According to author Stuart Hart, sustainable global enterprise holds the key to reducing poverty, reversing environmental destruction, and even counteracting terrorism.
SocialFunds.com -- Cornell and University of North Carolina Business Professor Stuart Hart's Capitalism at the Crossroads perfectly complements University of Michigan Business Professor C. K. Prahalad's The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, perhaps even surpassing it in significance. The two professors collaborated from 1998 through 2002 on the seminal article that gave birth to the "bottom of the pyramid" (BOP) concept that Prof. Prahalad explains so eloquently in his book (see related book review). The BOP market theory holds that multinational corporations (MNCs) can simultaneously profit and help reduce global poverty by serving a market they have largely ignored until recently: the 4 billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day.

As good as Prof. Prahalad's book is, however, it leaves unanswered the question of how the BOP theory fits into the larger context of sustainability, particularly environmental sustainability. Prof. Hart's book not only answers this question, but also presents a comprehensive and compelling argument that capitalism cannot afford to ignore sustainability--indeed, that capitalism will thrive by embracing sustainability (and vice versa).

"This book takes the contrarian's view that business--more than either government or civil society--is uniquely equipped, at this point in history, to lead us toward a sustainable world in the years ahead," writes Prof. Hart. "Properly focused, the profit motive can accelerate (not inhibit) the transformation toward global sustainability, with nonprofits, governments, and multilateral agencies all playing crucial roles as collaborators."

Prof. Hart introduces the book describing how the shift in the relationship between capitalism and environmentalism from antagonistic to (sometimes) complementary forces mirrored his own shift from distrusting capitalism to respecting its power to leverage positive social change. The "greening" revolution of the 1980s demonstrated that companies could profit by employing more environmentally benign processes, such as recycling or waste reduction.

However laudable the greening approach is, it became apparent in the 1990s that reducing the environmental impact of existing business models would prove insufficient to address the imminent environmental and social crises, according to Prof. Hart. He was among those who at that time promoted moving "beyond greening" through "creative destruction" of environmentally and economically wasteful processes, replacing them with environmentally (and economically) beneficial processes.

"Unlike greening, which works through the existing supply chain to effect continuous improvement in the current business system, 'beyond greening' strategies focus on emerging technologies, new markets, and unconventional partners and stakeholders," writes Prof. Hart. "Such strategies are thus disruptive to current industry structure and raise the possibility of significant repositioning, enabling new players to establish leading positions as the process of creative destruction unfolds."

[docstew]

Prof. Hart introduces the book describing how the shift in the relationship between capitalism and environmentalism from antagonistic to (sometimes) complementary forces mirrored his own shift from distrusting capitalism to respecting its power to leverage positive social change.

a Business Professor that distrusted capitalism?  No wonder the economy is so effed up.  I wonder what he was teachingindoctrinating his students to believe all these years.

[Miss Mia]

a Business Professor that distrusted capitalism?  No wonder the economy is so effed up.  I wonder what he was teachingindoctrinating his students to believe all these years.

The book is quite interesting.  I go to a conservative business school and it's required reading this term.

[Wretched Excess]

The book is quite interesting.  I go to a conservative business school and it's required reading this term.

I have heard of him before.   I haven't read any of his books, but I have read several of his articles;  they have always been interesting.

[docstew]

My point was not whether the book was interesting, and I can't say one way or another as I haven't read any of his work.  My point was that if he distrusted capitalism, how was he supposed to inculcate his students in a belief in capitalism?  Capitalism is, to put it simply, how to make the most money possible by fulfilling wants and needs in the market, while spending the least money possible.  Is that not what business is?

[Miss Mia]

He may have at one time distrusted capitalism, but within a few pages of the book it's obvious he doesn't now.  The first chapter is about companies that have instituted environmentally aware processes from the beginning and end stage of production and thus increased their profits (one example being Xerox).  And why the government instituting fines for something like CO2 emissions at this stage is actually detrimental and past the stage of effectiveness. 

[Wretched Excess]

My point was not whether the book was interesting, and I can't say one way or another as I haven't read any of his work.  My point was that if he distrusted capitalism, how was he supposed to inculcate his students in a belief in capitalism?  Capitalism is, to put it simply, how to make the most money possible by fulfilling wants and needs in the market, while spending the least money possible.  Is that not what business is?

capitalism is what happens when government doesn't do anything to prevent it.

this guy, in the past, at any rate, has undertaken to find a way to prevent or avoid the inevitable downturns (sorta like we are seeing now) that occur after boom times.  the "sustainable growth" school of though comes in varying degrees of regulation, none of which, of course, I find palatable. 

anyway, it's a university.  you get exposed to tons of stuff that you come to reject;  the point is to think your way through the process.

[Miss Mia]

anyway, it's a university.  you get exposed to tons of stuff that you come to reject;  the point is to think your way through the process.

Which is what this university encourages.  They're big on entrepreneurship and overall it's a pretty conservative school.  It's definitely not some hippy liberal arts school.

[Wretched Excess]

Which is what this university encourages.  They're big on entrepreneurship and overall it's a pretty conservative school.  It's definitely not some hippy liberal arts school.

I predict that you will come to the conclusion that he has a point or two, but ultimately, what he is suggesting is unsupportable economically.

but that is just my guess