Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire: Shortlisted for the FT McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2020
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- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Rebecca Henderson
- ISBN：0241379687
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Summary
Free market capitalism is one of humanity's greatest inventions， and the greatest source of prosperity the world has ever seen。 But it's also on the verge of destroying the planet and destabilizing society in its single-minded pursuit of maximizing shareholder value。
Rebecca Henderson， McArthur University Professor at Harvard University， argues for a new framework; one that can simultaneously make a positive societal impact by confronting the realities of the environment and the need to address social and economic inequality， while also delivering sustained financial performance to ensure economic growth that brings prosperity and wellbeing to society as a whole。
Drawing on the lessons of companies from around the world who are acting on this responsibility - who are not only surviving but are thriving， becoming leaders in their industries and beginning to drive the wheels of change - Professor Henderson proves that this is not only a moral imperative for business but also the only way to remain competitive in our changing world。
Rebecca Henderson， McArthur University Professor at Harvard University， argues for a new framework; one that can simultaneously make a positive societal impact by confronting the realities of the environment and the need to address social and economic inequality， while also delivering sustained financial performance to ensure economic growth that brings prosperity and wellbeing to society as a whole。
Drawing on the lessons of companies from around the world who are acting on this responsibility - who are not only surviving but are thriving， becoming leaders in their industries and beginning to drive the wheels of change - Professor Henderson proves that this is not only a moral imperative for business but also the only way to remain competitive in our changing world。
Reviews
Alejandro Jaramillo
，
This is an interesting set of case studies on changes that some firms and industries have made to become more environmental friendly， but it fails as a compelling argument that this is the norm。
Gunther Glenk
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This book is a great collection of insightful and encouraging case studies of how businesses have done well by doing good。 Unfortunately， the book is short in highlighting and discussing the fundamental changes made to our understanding of capitalism when these businesses decided to embark on a more sustainable path。 But perhaps that's subject to economic research。 This book is a great collection of insightful and encouraging case studies of how businesses have done well by doing good。 Unfortunately， the book is short in highlighting and discussing the fundamental changes made to our understanding of capitalism when these businesses decided to embark on a more sustainable path。 But perhaps that's subject to economic research。 。。。more
Julia Azarcon
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- no original thoughts or innovative solutions- offers only platitudes and cherry picked case studies and often contradicts herself- most touching part of the book was totally unrelated to reimagining capitalism - made me realize that what’s outlined in this book tells us how NOT to reimagine capitalism- made me deeply question business’ role in development and sustainability- glad to read it though and understand rick’s 1 star review。
Brian
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Convincing case that the world is indeed on fire and that the current system is ill-equipped to deal with it。 Proposed solution not nearly as compelling。
Malte Nowak
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Can business make the world a better place？ Building on examples Rebecca Henderson encountered during her career， she makes her case for what a reimagined capitalism can look like。 She works out five pillars: creating shared value， developing purpose-driven organizations， rewiring finance， building cooperation， as well as rebuilding our institutions and fixing our governments。 The book gives a comprehensive overview of these important themes in sustainable management。 With best and worst practic Can business make the world a better place？ Building on examples Rebecca Henderson encountered during her career， she makes her case for what a reimagined capitalism can look like。 She works out five pillars: creating shared value， developing purpose-driven organizations， rewiring finance， building cooperation， as well as rebuilding our institutions and fixing our governments。 The book gives a comprehensive overview of these important themes in sustainable management。 With best and worst practice examples she makes her argument clear and understandable。 However， this also makes the book superficial。 In parts， it reads like a praise story on businesses and leaders who all want to save the world but are trapped in an imperfect system the prevents them from doing so。Saying this， I missed an elaboration on the core problems of the capitalist system and more concrete ideas on how to change it。 For example， the role of the universities training today’s managers was completely left out。 The short-term view of the capital market is mentioned but not further elaborated。 （The discussion summarizes in: It is bad， and we should do it differently）。Maybe this simplicity is necessary to make this book work for busy professionals who want to start making a difference。 And if you are looking for a first overview， I highly recommend reading it。 But if you are already invested in the topic， this book will teach you nothing new。 。。。more
Tobi Fairley
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Inspiring plan for reimagining capitalism that is clear and easy to understand。 I especially liked the simple takeaways for making a difference ourselves because it takes all of us to make a difference not just large corporations。
Sam Kravitz
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I thought I was going to like this book but it came up short on a lot of levels。 I got about 2/3rds through it but had to put it down。 Once Henderson started raving on how good of a job Walmart does at conservation and waste reduction I started to realize that she's probably just a corporate shill with an unrealistic view of how things in the world can be improved。 I thought I was going to like this book but it came up short on a lot of levels。 I got about 2/3rds through it but had to put it down。 Once Henderson started raving on how good of a job Walmart does at conservation and waste reduction I started to realize that she's probably just a corporate shill with an unrealistic view of how things in the world can be improved。 。。。more
Mike Merrill
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Somewhere near the end of chapter 2 I wrote “blah blah blah” in the margins in an attempt to gasp for air as the platitudes and meaningless patter pulled me under the riptide of boring bullshit。
Theodora Lau
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More often than not， we think of innovation as new cool tech / gadgets to disrupt incumbents。 But what about new ways of thinking about the value chain？ And the purpose of our business？
Tomek
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Just platitudes
Jozef Michalovčik
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We need more of these encouraging books saying that sustainable business is not just one of the options， but rather our only option。 On top of that some interesting research， examples and data proving that green business can also be a profitable business。 For me that was one of the key eye opening parts which is going against traditional opinions that sustainable means expensive-> slowing economic growth。Governments， companies and individuals。 We all make difference。 Do what you can。 Do your sma We need more of these encouraging books saying that sustainable business is not just one of the options， but rather our only option。 On top of that some interesting research， examples and data proving that green business can also be a profitable business。 For me that was one of the key eye opening parts which is going against traditional opinions that sustainable means expensive-> slowing economic growth。Governments， companies and individuals。 We all make difference。 Do what you can。 Do your small part at least。 。。。more
Brooke Traister
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Conscious capitalism and purpose-driven business values are becoming table stakes in today’s economy， particularly as Millennials ascend in the workforce。 This book not only makes a moral case for why we must adopt sustainable practices， but a business case as well。 The part that most resonated with me described how businesses can lead through “precompetitive cooperation” to collectively force change in their industries — to fight climate change， to increase sustainability， to create a more equi Conscious capitalism and purpose-driven business values are becoming table stakes in today’s economy， particularly as Millennials ascend in the workforce。 This book not only makes a moral case for why we must adopt sustainable practices， but a business case as well。 The part that most resonated with me described how businesses can lead through “precompetitive cooperation” to collectively force change in their industries — to fight climate change， to increase sustainability， to create a more equitable workforce， etc。 — and pave the way for political change （because you have to have both to be effective）。 In Henderson’s words， “The efforts of purpose driven firms to drive change are the tinder from which the fire of political reform could spring。”The obvious hurdle to climb is overcoming the pressure of short-sighted investors who care only about the bottom line， and Henderson points out that this is a key flaw of our current model of capitalism。 I appreciated the chapter on rewiring finance and what role investors play in pressuring firms to adopt sustainable practices。Fair warning: this book is densely packed with research and business case studies （it’s written by a Harvard Business School professor， after all！） — but it’s a good read and one I recommend you taking your time to absorb。 。。。more
Mahendra Rathod
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"There is one and only one social responsibility of business - to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits。” - Milton Friedman （1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences）。 The corporates and investors have taken this concept too seriously and have wreaked havoc in the world - in the name of capitalism。 Very few firms these days are worried about other stakeholders like employees， vendors， governments and society at large。 Please watch "Rotten" on Netflix t "There is one and only one social responsibility of business - to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits。” - Milton Friedman （1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences）。 The corporates and investors have taken this concept too seriously and have wreaked havoc in the world - in the name of capitalism。 Very few firms these days are worried about other stakeholders like employees， vendors， governments and society at large。 Please watch "Rotten" on Netflix to see how simple products are bottled water， chocolate， wine， sugar， avocados etc are ruining lives， funding cartels and promoting slave labour in 2021！ Some of the largest and most prestigious corporates are responsible for this。 Even the recent startups supported by large VC and PE funds are on a similar path。The author， Rebecca Henderson， is a professor at Harvard。 She has written a very thought-provoking book on how the current capitalism is taking Friedman's philosophy too far at the expense of society。 The book argues that in order to save the world from inequality due to crony capitalism and greed， we need to rethink how businesses are done。 She provides ample examples from Lipton， Nike， Walmart and many other unknown corporates， who have worked for a larger purpose （than just maximising profits）。This is a must-read book for founders， CEOs， Govt officials， management students and employees。 。。。more
Liz Thys
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Solid economics policy book but I was disappointed by the number of obvious， trite examples （most notably， Toyota） that she used。 I was expecting fresh thinking and most of her arguments were recycled。 If you’ve read other business books on purpose， you may not find new material here。
Max Reichel
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Although the book is somewhat less inspiring than the title suggests， it provides some good insight on how to mitigate some of the major environmental and socio-economic problems of our time， most notably climate change。 However， Henderson fails to provide radically new ideas that completely challenge the current modus operandi， assuming that some form of capitalism is a natural constant。
Mukul Gupta
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Very good examples that we can use in everyday life to think about and convince people around us at business level。 cases at uniliver ， walmart etc prove that despite a lack of direct understandable new business opportunities， question of sustainability could be important for organisations A quick read。 Well written。
Cathy
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I was fascinated by her BookTV special。 I’d been debating buying the book and when I watched the show I immediately ordered it， I needed to know more。 It was very good。 She tells good stories about real companies and leaders that are really fascinating。 I declared “Isn’t that interesting！” out loud many times。 But more importantly， she makes very convincing arguments about an improved way of doing things that is actually better for the economy and for companies at the same time that it’s better I was fascinated by her BookTV special。 I’d been debating buying the book and when I watched the show I immediately ordered it， I needed to know more。 It was very good。 She tells good stories about real companies and leaders that are really fascinating。 I declared “Isn’t that interesting！” out loud many times。 But more importantly， she makes very convincing arguments about an improved way of doing things that is actually better for the economy and for companies at the same time that it’s better for employees and citizens。 The focus is more for business leaders， investors and people involved with regulating or working with businesses than a former worker-bee like me。 Yet she still made it super interesting， she’s a terrific communicator。 At one point about 80 pages in my reaction to something was a somewhat sneering， “Yeah， sure， but that would require completely reimagining capitali。。。oh。 Duh。” 。。。more
Eswar
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I have a slight bias， since Rebecca Henderson was one of my professors who convinced me to go down the path of sustainability finance when it was virtually non-existent and the opportunity cost was high （2017）。 Reading this book reminded me of her classes - crisp delivery， concise， data-driven， and always with an illuminating story whether private or personal。 Not only does she talk about the role of government and businesses， but how normal employees， entrepreneurs， job-seekers and most importa I have a slight bias， since Rebecca Henderson was one of my professors who convinced me to go down the path of sustainability finance when it was virtually non-existent and the opportunity cost was high （2017）。 Reading this book reminded me of her classes - crisp delivery， concise， data-driven， and always with an illuminating story whether private or personal。 Not only does she talk about the role of government and businesses， but how normal employees， entrepreneurs， job-seekers and most importantly YOU can do。I hope you will be empowered the same way I have。 It’s a quick read。 。。。more
Jason Knoll
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A more appropriate title would have been “Reimagining Business。” For sure， businesses need to do much， much more in terms of corporate social responsibility; however， any discussion about capitalism must also include the role of the state， which this book lacks。
Inés
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Very nice book with a lot of examples of multinationals that have contributed to making the world a little better。 After all， they do have power。
Laura Ghitoi
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A 4。5 stars read*。 I have read this book as part of my Sustainability Honours programme at Amsterdam Business School and I'm *thrilled* that a book like this is part of the curriculum。 Over the last few years， I've been intensively learning about the true extent to which we live an unsustainable life and the apocalyptic scenarios awaiting us and future generations if we don't reverse the pace。 However， all this grim and bleak info quickly built up and made me feel hopeless。 I think the timing co A 4。5 stars read*。 I have read this book as part of my Sustainability Honours programme at Amsterdam Business School and I'm *thrilled* that a book like this is part of the curriculum。 Over the last few years， I've been intensively learning about the true extent to which we live an unsustainable life and the apocalyptic scenarios awaiting us and future generations if we don't reverse the pace。 However， all this grim and bleak info quickly built up and made me feel hopeless。 I think the timing could not have been better for me to read Rebecca Henderson's book。 I underlined a lot of quotes and paragraphs and definitely found the final 10 pages to be the push I needed to find my motivation and drive again。*The book does focus a lot on business case studies from the Global North， but the lessons derived are full of insights which should be fit to be applicable worldwide。LE: I do find it increasingly harder to sit with Henderson's optimism。 While it is much needed， I am afraid a lot of the changes she is discussing about won't happen （in time）。 。。。more
Ipshita
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Insightful， practical and optimistic！I had first come across Rebecca in a GIIN podcast in summer of 2020 promoting this book。 Frankly I felt she was super American （ironically she is originally English） in her optimism towards the private sector being more purpose driven。 This book however is not just about that optimism and the private sector- it is flooded with well researched examples and case studies to back up ESG/impact values。 However more so and very importantly it moves from how govt an Insightful， practical and optimistic！I had first come across Rebecca in a GIIN podcast in summer of 2020 promoting this book。 Frankly I felt she was super American （ironically she is originally English） in her optimism towards the private sector being more purpose driven。 This book however is not just about that optimism and the private sector- it is flooded with well researched examples and case studies to back up ESG/impact values。 However more so and very importantly it moves from how govt and business must be real partners to engineer solutions together， and the practical role of the individual。 Powerful book and a must read for every change maker。 。。。more
Jan Bos
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Passionate plea for a better capitalism
Adrian Mazzarolo
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Really enjoyed this one。 The author， Rebecca Henderson， does a thorough job of explaining WHY we’re in the situation we’re in， but also sheds light on HOW we can move forward to a far better situation through many real-world examples。 I also enjoyed how the author was very non-partisan throughout。 It’s very easy to bring that added layer of complexity to a book like this， but she did a great job treading the line。 I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in making a difference in the Really enjoyed this one。 The author， Rebecca Henderson， does a thorough job of explaining WHY we’re in the situation we’re in， but also sheds light on HOW we can move forward to a far better situation through many real-world examples。 I also enjoyed how the author was very non-partisan throughout。 It’s very easy to bring that added layer of complexity to a book like this， but she did a great job treading the line。 I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in making a difference in the world they live in。 。。。more
Rebecca
，
I have two more chapters to finish， so I will update this review when I've finished the book。 The book details many case studies in reshaping companies to take into account their impact on the environment and society in an effort to convince business leaders to voluntarily change their behavior。 The author has excellent ideas and makes a clear case for why "changing the architecture" of the way businesses are conceived and run is a necessary public good。 It's an admirable project， but the author I have two more chapters to finish， so I will update this review when I've finished the book。 The book details many case studies in reshaping companies to take into account their impact on the environment and society in an effort to convince business leaders to voluntarily change their behavior。 The author has excellent ideas and makes a clear case for why "changing the architecture" of the way businesses are conceived and run is a necessary public good。 It's an admirable project， but the author pays little attention for a role for government in her analysis。 For me， government is a fatal flaw。 The book could have been truly outstanding if the author had opened her mind to this possibility。 Instead， it is just another "business case" for voluntarily adopting more sustainable business models， and for businesses policing themselves （and how to best make that happen）。 She explains the history of many of the current notions of how to best run a business and takes them apart for why they are either wrong or not the only way to be successful。 She also details the way in which her sustainable models have been around for hundreds of years， and， significantly， how the sustainable models have been *rejected* by the majority of businesses for hundreds of years。 Her detailed command of the history， the success of the sustainable model， and the failure of many businesses to adopt these models make her emphasis on how to make them work and to eschew much role for government all the more perplexing。 The role of government is to be there for business interests to lobby。 Over and over again， I kept thinking that since trying to convince business leaders to adopt her model voluntarily has failed for hundreds of years， why wasn't she looking at government to rewrite the social compact with businesses to give them a new set of rules？ While she recognizes that voluntary business "compacts" can allow freeloaders or lack power to police their members， she does not touch how government could act as the entity to create the baseline to require that businesses adopt the models that she advocates （and is quite passionate about）。 It is perplexing that she does not recognize the role of government intervention to set the right baseline。 Instead， she positions government as a reactive entity， and thus the business community has to reach a consensus， and then lobby governments to work with them to change。 But， at least in the US， businesses have immense power in government now--because they make such large campaign contributions。 They are not lobbying the government to do the right thing。 In fact， they have done exactly the opposite。 The solution appears to be to spend more time convincing businesses that they should be sustainable--which hasn't worked in hundreds of years。 She does not talk about how to limit the power of businesses to lobby and drown out the voices of the NGOs and social justice organizations， or even ordinary citizens， in government。 It seemed to be a core flaw to me since she feels so strongly about businesses being sustainable and doing right by the environment or the world's population。 Why not talk about how to curb the power of the wrong-doers to prevent changes？ Also， businesses are not accountable to the public as government is--they can decide to be sustainable and then change their minds。 If they change their minds， what happens？ On her story， social justice organizations （which are poor and underfunded） and the public have to publicly embarrass the businesses （for however long that takes） to get them to change again。 Her construct puts a huge burden on the parties with the least power to make change--change that has no guarantee of lasting and can be changed without accountability （except for the public spending their time， energy， and effort to try to embarrass the businesses--who might or might not care）。To truly talk about changing the architecture， I would have wanted to see more ideas about how to do that and an argument for why it is that government can help businesses succeed while holding a level playing field for workers， protecting the environment， and nudging businesses towards accounting for all their costs， rather than externalizing the ones they do not want to have to pay for。Instead， the books is endless case studies about how businesses can be run sustainably。 That is all nice for business people who are willing to do the right thing in their businesses。 But for all the case studies， the message I came away with from the book was that we have to continue to wait around until businesses get convinced to be sustainable。 Since there are so many businesses making a lot of money by being polluters， it is hard to understand why they would be convinced by case studies。 When one's business model is profitable， there is little incentive to change， especially when the bad results are not imminent。 。。。more
Miguel
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A bit underwhelming - was like reading a tepid response to crony capitalism from someone who had spent their lives writing HBR articles。
Ben Rogers
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I enjoyed this one。 Another important read。 Good points about the climate crisis， issues such as income disparity - CEO profits， etc。 It was a little heavy on the social justice side， but I really enjoyed it！ 3。3/5
Tim Letscher
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Bit of a slog。 Great anecdotes on which to build conclusions but writing felt stiff and a bit boring。 I did however learn quite a bit and the bibliography is a gold mine reference。
Jean
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Fabulous book to consider our current economic situation and what can be done to improve it for the better of all。 Some great insights to success stories and inspiration for change。
Cri
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