The Enlightened Capitalists

Two centuries of British and American business leaders who tried to run companies that were both profitable and socially responsible are the subject of James O'Toole's 2019 history. An expert on ethical leadership, O'Toole revives largely forgotten stories through case studies of Anita Roddick, Robert Owen, Herb Kelleher, Levi Strauss, Bill Gore, James Cash Penney, William C. Norris, Tom Chappell and William Lever. Lever, inventor of bar soap, built Britain's most profitable company and spent heavily on better lives for his workers, until creditors took control and ended those practices. O'Toole argues that humane labor policies and stakeholder management rarely outlasted their founders once shareholder pressure grew. It asks whether virtuous corporate practice can survive shareholder capitalism.

B Lab co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert praised O'Toole's clear-eyed look at the history of enlightened capitalism and urged business leaders who want to shape its future to read it.