![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Feedback Loop
Dec. 10th, 2018 08:25 pmBook Review: The Ethical Capitalist - How to make business work better for society, by Julian Richer
This was a random book sale selection, I probably wouldn't otherwise have made the effort to buy it. From my perspective it's unremarkable, in that it argues that successful businesses need a virtuous circle of happy staff, suppliers and customers. Too often, greed disturbs this loop, either by squeezing T&Cs for employees and workers in the "gig economy", not paying suppliers a fair price or on time, or profiteering, or corporate tax avoidance or evasion. But, evidently, this needs to be said, and Richer says it squarely. The book is high on principles and doesn't go in to much in the way of detail, and once or twice there's a whiff of religion and righteousness, but that shouldn't disqualify the central message. His arguments in favour of regulation, and on the limits of where it can be sensible for the private sector to engage in wholesale provision of public services, seem particularly strong.
This was a random book sale selection, I probably wouldn't otherwise have made the effort to buy it. From my perspective it's unremarkable, in that it argues that successful businesses need a virtuous circle of happy staff, suppliers and customers. Too often, greed disturbs this loop, either by squeezing T&Cs for employees and workers in the "gig economy", not paying suppliers a fair price or on time, or profiteering, or corporate tax avoidance or evasion. But, evidently, this needs to be said, and Richer says it squarely. The book is high on principles and doesn't go in to much in the way of detail, and once or twice there's a whiff of religion and righteousness, but that shouldn't disqualify the central message. His arguments in favour of regulation, and on the limits of where it can be sensible for the private sector to engage in wholesale provision of public services, seem particularly strong.