This book provides the results of research that was conducted by three academics who wanted to better understand the impact of allowing employees to demonstrate their religion in the workplace; the authors refer to this as workers bringing their whole selves into the workplace. The research questions were on how and when faith and religion are demonstrated in the workplace, what the positive and negative outcomes are of these demonstrations, and what type of professions or workplace environments are most tolerant to those who have a desire to be all of who they are in the workplace. Over 13,000 people in the U.S. completed the survey over a three-year time period; the survey respondents were from many different religious groups, including Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews, in addition to those who identified themselves as having no faith at all. Overall, the authors were attempting to identify what the potential results are for organizations and the individual employees if the employees are allowed to be fully authentic at the workplace. The references used as a foundation for this study indicate that employees are ‘more committed, motivated and act in ways that support the organization’ (page 10) when they bring all of themselves to the workplace, and the first chapter explains why this research is necessary.

There are ten chapters in the book, eight of which discuss the different results of the research. Each chapter begins with a mini-story from one of the survey participants and then the authors proceed to further explain the point made in the anecdote with the results of the questions that were asked in the multi-question survey. There is at least one table or figure in each chapter demonstrating the results, cross-tabulated with different demographic characteristics; these are very helpful for gaining a better understanding of the differences between the different workplace and personal characteristics. Every chapter ends with a section called The Bottom Line, which provides a quick summary of the main points made in the chapter. Each chapter also has many references to other research that relates to the topic being discussed (the full reference list fills six and half pages) and there are many notes that add to the discussion of the chapter. There are five appendices at the end of the book that explain the research methodology and provide the questionnaire that was used to gather the data.

Chapter 1 introduces how the book is structured and the point of the research. Chapter 2 adds a further foundation to the purpose of the research by identifying the fears that leaders may have when allowing faith practices and religious talk in the workplace. Three different fears are identified. These include the possible marginalization of some of the workers when religious faith is expressed, the conflict that could occur between workers having different faith perspectives, and the potential emotional separation workers may feel when not being allowed to fully be themselves in the workplace.

Chapter 3 identifies all the different ways that faith is expressed at work. This discussion includes the impact that different factors, such as position in the organization, size of the organization, culture of the organization, and individual characteristics have on the ways in which workers express their faith and their confidence in doing so. Chapter 4 addresses an interesting question of workers viewing themselves as having a spiritual calling for the work they are doing. This aspect was studied because other research indicated that ‘having a sense of calling was correlated with better coping with work problems, as well as overall lower stress and depression rates’ (page 43) and so many different aspects of calling are discussed in this chapter. Chapter 5 takes this discussion a step further and identifies how allowing religion in the workplace can bring meaning and purpose to a worker’s job tasks and work environment.

Chapter 6 discusses the relationship between faith and different aspects of ethical behaviour, such as questioning authority, advocating for self and others, and making change within the organization. The authors provide many interesting individual anecdotes and statistics related to ethical behvaviours demonstrated by different professions and types of organizations. Chapters 7 and 8 begin the discussion of religious discrimination and harassment, and the realistic accommodations that need to be present if religious expression is encouraged in the workplace. The authors identify the factors affecting where and when discrimination and harassment are more likely to occur; these include where in the country these workers live and work, whether the religious group is a minority within the workplace, whether there is a particular societal perception of a religious group (the authors speak about the challenge Muslims have within the U.S. since 9/11), and the leader’s perception of and experience with different religions. The authors also challenge their own research results in relation to the question of whether religion is the factor that is causing discrimination and harassment; they wonder if the cause is another demographic factor such as gender or ethnicity. The discussion on accommodation includes the influence of the human rights legislation in the U.S. and how this might impact the actions and reactions in the workplace.

Chapter 9 brings one further point to the discussion on accommodating faith in the work environment. This chapter discusses the addition of family into the equation of whether employees feel comfortable and supported in bringing all of themselves to the workplace. One interesting demographic factor noted was that employees who are more religious are more likely to be married and have children. Due to this factor, this group identified more work-life balance issues. Also, the authors discovered that in those who identified themselves as religious, there was a significant difference between the percentage of men and women in the workplace, with women participating less than men. There was also much more gender traditionalism demonstrated among these workers.

The last chapter provides a good summary of what organizations and leaders should do if they want their workers to bring their whole selves to work. The authors identify, once again, the benefits of workers having the freedom to express their faith in the workplace. They also, though, acknowledge some of the challenges that organizations may experience when allowing faith in the workplace, and provide a brief description of six things an organization can do to reduce the downsides of creating a faith-tolerant workplace.

This would be a very interesting book for someone working in an HR department to read, as they could refer to the research when recommending certain policies and procedures or proposing a shift in the organization’s work culture. This book is also a great reference for any academic studying or teaching in the social sciences or business fields. The empirical research is solid and provides much evidence for recommending freedom of faith within the workplace. The main challenge I see with this book, however, is that all the data was gathered from those working in the U.S. and thus the conclusions and recommendations may only be applicable to organizations in the U.S. The objective of the research study was to understand the benefits of allowing religion to be demonstrated in the workplace, so if this study was replicated in Europe, Asia, or Africa the results could benefit organizations that operate within a global environment.

‘Religion in a Changing Workplace’ by Elaine Howard Ecklund, Denise Daniels, and Christopher P. Scheitle was published in 2024 by Oxford University Press (ISBN: 978-0-19-767501-4). 201pp.

Andrea Soberg is a retired professor of human resource management from Trinity Western University in Canada. She continues to be active within the global academic and business community by researching, writing, and assisting organizations that have a focus on business as mission.

As the authors of The Meaning and Purpose of Work point out, most of us will probably spend more of our lives working than doing anything else, such that work has the potential to be our most meaningful contribution to the world, but also that which causes us the greatest misery. The book is shaped around the idea that work occurs at three levels: individual, organisational and systemic, and throughout, the authors return to the trade-off between the personal rewards of work, whether extrinsic (such as remuneration) or intrinsic (such as a feeling of fulfilment), and its societal worth (as with work that serves others). All of these are significant determinants of meaning and as such, the main focus of the book – emphasised at the very end – is on why we work, this being the question that must inform other, more pragmatic questions about what to do, where or for what duration.

The introduction raises the question of meaning in work, particularly when tragedies or crises provoke periods of reflection. The first chapter then proceeds to explore ‘a multiplicity of ways in which work can give life meaning and purpose – and a multiplicity of ways in which it can take it away’ (page 7). Here, the authors outline concepts such as ‘market fit’ in relation to meaning, whereby ‘meaning and purpose can emerge from the abstract machinations of the marketplace … in the form of finding real alignment between what the market needs and wants and what we are uniquely fit to supply’ (page 8). They also discuss the importance of self-realisation (or personal fulfilment), service to others (including supporting one’s family), and community (or those with whom we work) if work is to have meaning.  

Chapter 2 unpacks fundamental concepts such as work, meaningfulness and purpose and suggests that while our personal perspectives are important when it comes to judging work meaningful, tied as such judgements are to our systems of value, they are not simply statements of preference but are in fact prescriptive – which raises the possibility of our being wrong, for instance if our priorities are mistaken or we are confused about what matters to us. Much therefore depends on our theory of what constitutes meaning(fulness).

Chapters 3 and 4 examine factors that can influence the meaningfulness of work, focusing primarily on the importance of individual perspective and ‘work orientation’. With regard to the latter, whether one sees one’s work as a job, career or calling can have a fundamental impact on levels of satisfaction, fulfilment and identification with one’s work. While the authors recognise that ‘job-crafting’ and changing one’s orientation to work is not a means by which anyone can suddenly transform a tedious job into a rewarding career, their observations highlight the importance of ‘meaning-making’, whilst also acknowledging the fact that the perspectives of others (rather than simply that of the worker) matter, and that the nature of the work itself is often central: ‘Notwithstanding this implication that meaning and purpose are to be found in the worker … it is difficult to deny that there are some features in the world around work that make some work more conducive to cultivating meaning and purpose than others’ (page 60).

Chapter 5 looks at meaningful work in organisations, considering reasons for the shift towards stakeholder value perspectives and the proliferation of company statements of purpose. Comparing work in one of the Big Four accounting firms to that of a small, worker-owned company, the authors recognise that many people (themselves included, previously) do find meaning and value working for large firms, under pressure to produce results. They also acknowledge that large organisations can achieve purposes that matter to individuals who work for them and that what matters when it comes to any stated company purpose is sincerity: ‘ … the organizations in which we often work can fulfill those inspiring purposes, from serving society’s needs to making the world a better place. They can do so at a scale that we could not achieve as individuals, harnessing collective power that enables us to connect our personal meaning and talent to a larger purpose …  economic sense and moral sentiments can align together to build organizations that are monetarily successful and provide work that is meaningful to their employees’ (page 81). While organisations can strip the meaning from work and leave employees feeling under-valued in repetitive, tedious work, they can also create communities and serve valuable purposes. As ever, much depends on the values of the individual, but in organisations, a good deal is down to the approach of the leaders.

Chapter 6 raises the question of how market and state value and put a price on work (and life) according to its ‘market fit’ or societal benefit. There is rather less in the way of conceptual discussion in this chapter and while the reader can extract from the detailed case studies the tension between personal and societal values that confer meaning on work, a closer, more guided discussion of the ways in which our socio-economic system can assign meaning (or otherwise) would have been welcome.

The final chapter considers the future of work and the issues that are likely to arise as work changes, recapitulates earlier material and reinforces the book’s organisation around the three levels of work, offering a series of terms that express functional and moral practices or motivations connected with work at each level.

While brief, The Meaning and Purpose of Work covers a good deal of ground and in returning to certain themes constantly, maintains coherence. Some readers might wonder why, in a book dealing with meaningful work, there is little discussion of the specific rewards and challenges of self-employment, and the acquisition of professional skills seems to receive no attention. However, it is likely that these subjects – and others – could be addressed by the conceptual resources provided, possibly in terms of personal fulfilment or self-realisation. Perhaps more of a challenge is the importance of human dignity as a feature of work. While the authors do hint at this in places with terms such as ‘noble’ and considerations of the importance of ‘feeling valued’, this fundamental value connected with work – one likely to shape many conceptions of its meaning – is not discussed directly at all. While the foundations for a discussion of dignity may well be present, if the concept cannot be reduced to some other notion delineated in the book, such as ‘self-realisation’ or ‘recognition’, many would consider the absence of any consideration of dignity to be a significant oversight.

Nevertheless, the book is certainly to be recommended. The Meaning and Purpose of Work is very accessible and well written. Much of the discussion is conceptual but this is always clear and illustrated with well-chosen examples, while engagement with the major literature is in no way over-bearing. The authors do not seek to tell readers what meaningful work is and as such, there is no single line of argument to follow throughout. Instead, they invite reflection on what makes work meaningful (or not), and why, both for those engaged in it and those around them – a valuable exercise which is conducted in a measured and balanced fashion. Each chapter contains questions for further consideration or reflection, which suggests that the book is meant for use in seminars. It is likely to appeal to those with interests in philosophy and questions of value in relation to work, and while not intended as an instructional or ‘how to’ book, it would lend itself to being adapted for use in courses or training on subjects such as business purpose or meaningful work. 

‘The Meaning and Purpose of Work: An Interdisciplinary Framework for Considering What Work is For’ by Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas was published in 2024 by Routledge (ISBN: 978-1-032-30933-0). 121pp.

Neil Jordan is Senior Editor at the Centre for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics. For more information about Neil please click here.

With the subtitle of this book being ‘Your Guide to Meaningful Work in a Changing World’ the reader would assume that O’Donnell’s book would provide guidance on how we can be better at our jobs and find fulfillment with the paid work that we do. This book, however, does not really achieve this end. This is not to say that this is not a good book to read, but the reader needs to understand what they will get out of this book before reading it. This is a book that can assist the reader in acknowledging and using the gifts and talents God has given us for the work we do. The work and business examples that are provided in each chapter evolved from the research that the author conducted while completing her doctoral dissertation. This book is written by a woman who provides many examples of the challenges women have when balancing life and work. Each chapter includes many stories of leaders, employees, and entrepreneurs and their experiences with their work and work environment.

The book is written with three distinct sections, each having several chapters that expound on the focus of the section, with each chapter ending with some exercises that assist with the practical application of what was written about in the chapter. The first section is called ‘Where Do You Want To Go?’ and includes 3 chapters that discuss the challenges that most people are facing in today’s world of work. (Note that the author is writing for an audience in the developed world and does not include the challenges that someone might experience in under-developed nations). O’Donnell briefly discusses the economy, the new tools and technologies that are now used in work, and the feelings and emotions experienced by workers in today’s organizations. She proposes and challenges dysfunctional beliefs about work that Christians may have and attempts to explain what God’s calling is for our lives. Even though these chapters may set the stage for our current situation they don’t really motivate the reader to read further in the book. The saving grace of this section is Chapter 2, where the author discusses the concept of ‘lean in and let go’ and where she acknowledges that God is in control of our situations. This discussion possibly sets the stage for moving on into the second section of the book where the reader learns more about how to lean in and let go.

The second section of the book is entitled ‘Who Will You Become?’ and has 4 chapters that discuss how to be entrepreneurial in your work and business. In the author’s bio, listed on the back cover of the book, she is identified as an entrepreneur and so she has an understanding of what it feels like to start a business. Throughout the chapters in this section, she uses many of her own business experiences, in addition to the answers to questions she asked entrepreneurs while completing her doctoral research, to explain many of the concepts discussed in these chapters. O’Donnell refers to several significant topics such as the importance of building relationships, understanding creativity, and developing resilience skills. In this section of the book she utilizes many scriptural references to explain how God always uses relationships in the building of His kingdom, how creative the Lord was in the creation of the world and all that is in it, and how Jesus was resilient in all that He endured. The use of some of the biblical references, however, can appear to be forced when relating these to the topics being discussed. One example of this is in Chapter 7 where the author uses the Easter story as a demonstration for building resilience; this application to work in our current situations seems a bit contrived. Since this section of the book was focused on being entrepreneurial in your work, it may appear that this book is written for people who want to start their own businesses; this may cause some readers to feel that this book would not be a guidebook for them in making their work meaningful in a changing world.

The last section of the book is entitled ‘How Will You Get There?’ and includes 4 chapters that focus on having empathy, imagination, and taking risks. This section ends by reflecting on our past and considering how we got to where we are today. In these chapters O’Donnell re-emphasizes our need to be entrepreneurial in all we do and explains good techniques for being a successful entrepreneur. Once again, though, these chapters don’t seem to fit within the main purpose of the book, which is to make any and all work meaningful in a changing world. The thoughts in these chapters could, however, assist entrepreneurs in being more effective and successful in their entrepreneurial ventures, as they deal with their failures and successes.

In conclusion, I found the book hard to read as there seemed to be no clear focus and end goal. Most chapters were well written, but the discussions did not always hang together inside the chapter or with the following chapters. The book did not successfully provide the reader with a conclusion on how to make their everyday work meaningful. The first 3 chapters probably should appear at the end of the book, as they summarize the current situation and demonstrate how all the concepts that are discussed in the following chapters provide some of the needed skills and direction on how to better manage our current work situations. Many of the chapters read like stand-alone essays (or good talks for a conference or podcast), which are good in themselves, but don’t always lead the reader to further knowledge in how to make work matter. The integration of scripture in some of the chapters and areas of focus seemed to be forced and doesn’t provide a cohesive understanding of what was really being meant by the scripture passages being used. Overall, the best chapter in the book is Chapter 6, where there is a wonderful exposition on creativity and God’s role in our ability to create. The author provides many gems in this discussion and causes the reader to truly consider our ability to be continually creative in all we do, remembering that God is the creator and we work with Him in all we create in our lives.

Due to the structure of each chapter including many anecdotes, and the fact that the majority of the references cited were not from academic books or articles, this is not an academic treatise about the integration of faith and work. This could be a good book for a Christian book study in which people in their early career stages have a desire to better understand how to integrate their faith with their work. The questions at the end of each chapter allow for good discussion and could elicit more answers as to how to make work matter, and these answers could actually create a guide-book for creating meaningful work in a changing world.

‘Make Work Matter: Your Guide to Meaningful Work in a Changing World’ by Michaela O’Donnell was published in 2021 by Baker Books (ISBN: 978-5-40-90160-6). 234 pp.

Andrea Soberg is a retired professor of human resource management from Trinity Western University in Canada. She continues to be active within the global academic and business community by researching, writing, and assisting organizations that have a focus on business as mission.

In this deeply researched study, Joseph Slaughter describes the organization, economic power, and cultural impact of three different Christian businesses in pre-Civil War America. He calls attention to the underappreciated of role of Christian enterprise in the development of capitalism and points to descendants of his three examples among evangelical businesses today.

Harmony is Slaughter’s first example. Under the zealous authority of George Rapp, the community of German Lutheran immigrants dominated textile manufacturing in several parts of Pennsylvania and Indiana in the 1820s and 1830s. Harmonists were not always welcome neighbors. With cotton mills, silkworm farms, and new steamboats, Harmonists competed for markets and resources with more efficient organization and more aggressive fiscal operations than their neighbors.

Expectations of Christ’s immanent return contributed to their work ethic and separatism from ordinary society. Rapp’s commune was laying the groundwork for Christ’s return, and the new millennium Christ would inaugurate. With that prospect in mind, community members worked as a unit with strict rules and a strong leader, apart from the allegedly corrupt world of their neighbors.

The Pioneer Stagecoach Line is Slaughter’s second example. In contrast to the separatist piety behind Harmonist enterprise, the Sabbatarian business led by Josiah Bissell, Jr. sought reform and moral improvement throughout American society. Unlike other stagecoach lines in upstate New York that ran seven days a week, the Pioneer Line stood firm against the sin of work on Sundays. Funded by Calvinist Presbyterians and Congregationalists, with cooperating inns along the line to accommodate rest and worship on Sundays, the Pioneer Line aspired to hold all Americans to the nation’s covenant with God, modeled on that of ancient Israel.

The Line enjoyed some initial success. Only a year after its inception in 1828, it commanded two-fifths of the market for stagecoach travel in the busy region around the newly opened Erie Canal. But this success was short-lived. While some riders welcomed morally upright travel, Josiah Bissell’s aggressive sanctimoniousness irritated others, making him a butt of jokes. The Line also struggled to find and retain experienced, cooperative drivers. It went out of business in the early 1830s.

Slaughter’s third and most compelling example of Christian business success is Harper & Brothers. Founded by four siblings and staunch Methodists, Harper’s grew from a printing business into the foremost publishing enterprise in pre-Civil War America. Headquartered in New York City, Harper & Brothers struck it rich with the Illuminated Bible they published in 1846, followed by the popular Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, first published in 1850 and still in print today under an amended title. Harper & Brothers is the most lucrative, expansive, and long-lasting of Slaughter’s examples.

In Slaughter’s typology of Christian businesses – Pietist, Reform, and Arminian – Harper’s exemplifies Arminianism, a theological term for belief in the free will often associated with Methodism. As an expression of their investment in free will, the Harper brothers approached their book and magazine business as means of encouraging virtue in individuals through helpful reading. The Harper Brothers engaged with individuals in the world around them, unlike the Harmonists whose Pietism demanded separation from the corruption of their neighbors. And unlike the challenge to Sunday travel posed by Sabbatarian stagecoaches, Slaughter characterizes the Harper’s Arminian enterprise as an effort not to Reform the world by challenging its immorality but to redeem the world through individual persuasion.

The great contribution of Slaughter’s book lies in his attention to three examples of Christian enterprise in the early United States, never studied as thoroughly before, or sufficiently appreciated for the varying degrees of economic and cultural influence they exerted. That said, Slaughter’s case for the importance of Christian enterprise in pre-Civil War America rests mainly on the shoulders of Harper & Brothers. While some conservative Christians complained about Harper & Brothers’ openness to fiction, and some intellectuals complained about the Brothers’ lack of interest in serious new literature, Harper publications played a major role in shaping the reading culture of nineteenth century America.

The relationship between the Harpers’ Arminianism and the emerging culture of American consumerism merits further discussion. Slaughter invites but does not pursue discussion of religion’s contribution to consumerism, and the prominent role of Methodism and its offshoots played in shaping and propelling its development.

There is also more to be said about the impact of economic and industrial development on Christian life in the early US. In his fine-tuned descriptions of industrial innovation at Harmony, the Pioneer Line, and Harper Brothers, Slaughter invites discussion of industrialism’s influence on American religion but does not develop it.

With respect to Slaughter’s claim that, “the role played by CBEs (Christian business enterprises) offers an alternative to the competing narratives of the Social Control and Democratization Schools” of American religious history, I would disagree. Slaughter’s examples point not to a third and alternative narrative for American religious history but rather to an interesting combination of social control and democratization.

It is difficult to imagine a stronger example of religion as a form of social control than George Rapp’s community. He ruled Harmony with a firm hand, organizing his people as if they were cogs in a machine, with each adult assigned to one specific task to be repeated perfectly. Rapp organized children as well, tasking them with powering mills and gathering worms.

The Reform stagecoach line established by Josiah Bissell can also be appreciated as an effort at social control. Bissell wanted Americans to observe the Sabbath as he thought it should be observed. His Pioneer Line was created to reform the business of American travel, based on the principle that Sabbath observance was fundamental to Christian life and to the nation’s upholding of its covenant with God.

With their commitment to reading as a means of persuading individuals toward virtue, Harper & Brothers falls more easily into a democratization narrative about American religious history. But the Harper’s story also shows how democratization and social control could be overlapping. The Harper story supports a democratization story in which a religious business is able to shape society precisely because it is more indirect, and more respectful of individual will than Pietist or Reform business.

Through the triumph of Arminianism outline in this book, Faith in Markets points to the integration of familiar and often competing narratives of social control and democratization. Evidence of that integration can be seen in the trajectory of Christian enterprise that Slaughter’s examples reveal. Readers interested in US economic history will enjoy this book, as will readers interested in the interplay of religion and American business.

‘Faith in Markets: Christian Capitalism in the Early American Republic’ by Joseph P. Slaughter was published in 2023 by Columbia University Press (ISBN: 978-0-23-119111-1). 400pp.

Amanda Porterfield, Emerita Professor of Religion at Florida State University, is the author of Corporate Spirit: Religion and the Rise of the Modern Corporation (Oxford University Press, 2018).

There are a myriad of books, academic articles, blogs, consultants’ websites, etc. that focus on leadership and explain how to be a good leader of people and organizations. Many of us who teach in the field of leadership can spout off the names of those who have created concepts, theories, and models of leadership. We can talk about when and how to use a transformational or transactional style and what characteristics make a good leader. In his book, Rooted Leadership, Johnson proposes a different perspective on leadership – he refers to all these styles and behaviours of past authors and researchers but enhances these concepts by introducing a theological perspective on leadership. He goes beyond the focus on servant leadership, that many Christians espouse as the best leadership style, and provides a greater biblical grounding for how we should lead. He states that leadership studies don’t generally embrace a theology of leadership, and thus, as a theologian, he feels this knowledge gap needs to be corrected. For those of us who teach in Christian colleges and universities, and those who are Christians holding down a leadership role in an organization, a theological perspective on leadership is what we should be understanding, integrating in our teaching, and demonstrating in our behaviours. In his introduction to the book, Johnson states: ‘without a solid theological foundation, Christians will continue to buy into a sociological basis for human leadership, one that can become a functional heresy’ (page xv).

The book is divided into eleven chapters that answer different questions that leaders may ask about leadership. Each chapter provides many scholarly references that support his perspective, in addition to scripture that reinforces his thoughts and comments on a theology of leadership. Johnson refers to many of the well-known, and regularly cited, concepts and models, such as Kouzes and Posner’s transformational leadership model, Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model, and Jim Collins’ examples of transforming a good organization into a great organization. He also refers to many Christian authors, such as Robert Greenleaf, Mark Buchanan, and John Maxwell, and their writings on leadership, in addition to respected theologians such as J.I. Packer, Eugene Peterson, Henri Nouwen, and N.T. Wright, explaining scripture. (A quick view of the 15 pages of bibliography demonstrates the depth of reading Johnson did before composing this theology of leadership.) He ends each chapter with a practical case of how a person in scripture demonstrated the leadership characteristic or challenge which the chapter is discussing.

Chapter 1 provides a framework for understanding a theology of leadership. Johnson begins by explaining why universities, colleges, and seminaries refer more to a secular view of leadership rather than a theological view. He discusses the impact that culture has had on our desire for a more pragmatic understanding of the world around us. This desire for the practical understanding of leadership has pushed the research and teaching of leadership studies into an anthropological and sociological study. He further indicates that philosophy and theology have been pushed aside for these other areas to be the demonstrators of knowledge and wisdom; due to this fact, he believes that an understanding of correct leadership will be skewed. He takes many pages in this chapter to expound upon our need for knowledge of the divine. He quotes from Shepherds After My Own Heart by Timothy Laniak, by stating: ‘True leadership, rooted leadership, can be understood only in terms of a fully integrated theological vision of God and his work on earth’ (page 13).

Chapters 2 through 4 define what leadership is, why leadership is necessary, and how one becomes a leader. Johnson focuses on how Jesus led His disciples in His ministry on earth – He was a servant. Johnson clearly defines servant leadership as one that does not diminish the authority of the leader and that our servanthood begins with service to God. He identifies that leadership is always present when decisions need to be made and when change is occurring around us; Johnson indicates that leaders are an integral part of God’s design and purpose. He further discusses how one becomes a leader, stating that ‘there is no such thing as chance, destiny, or luck in God’s kingdom . . . theology declares that God determines the course’ (page 74). The theological perspective of leadership is that it is a summons.

Chapters 5 through 7 explain the character traits and skills that good leaders possess. Of all the chapters in this book, these are probably the chapters that most current and future leaders will want to read and focus their thoughts upon. Johnson begins by stating that all the best leadership traits are focused on the heart of a leader – he indicates how failed leadership has everything to do with ‘unprincipled hearts’ (page 99). He explains the five traits that are critical for principled leadership – these are love, justice, humility, integrity, and diligence – and discusses the importance of God’s wisdom in understanding how and when to demonstrate these traits. With this guidance from God, the leader’s abilities to follow, to think, to see, to shape, to communicate, to manage, and to implement will be easily and effectively demonstrated.

Chapters 8 and 9 discuss the roles leaders play and how power and influence should be used. The focus is on how a leader needs to fulfill an organization’s mission and ensure that its values are exemplified. The challenge with these two chapters is that the discussion centres around organizations in which the mission and values are in accordance with Christ. These chapters do not clearly address how leaders fulfill their mission and vision achievement role in organizations that don’t have a Christian foundation and are not focused on how to minister to the world around them. The discussion in these chapters, however, provides much guidance to leaders working within the church and Christian communities.

Chapter 10 acknowledges the importance of suffering when in a leadership role and how it can be beneficial to developing a good leader. Johnson discusses many things that those of us in leadership experience – setbacks, misunderstandings, alienation, loneliness, personal failures, adversaries, loss – and provides guidance on how to manage our way through these challenges. This chapter provides much encouragement to help us endure through these times of suffering.

Chapter 11 ends the book with how leaders end their responsibilities and roles as a leader, and how a positive transition can occur. Johnson acknowledges the difficulties leaders have when letting go of this important part of their life; for some, their identity has been their leadership role. He explains the need for developing successors and discusses why good leaders should be sharing of their gifts and talents for ensuring the next generation of leaders are leading as God would have them do. Johnson goes on to provide many scriptural references on leadership in God’s future kingdom, which are good to contemplate, but the discussion is lacking in how past leaders, those who are followers of Christ, can effectively manage their future roles (no longer as a leader) while still here on earth.

To conclude, this book definitely adds to the field of leadership studies and fills a gap in our understanding of leadership from a theological perspective, which is greatly needed in Christian universities and colleges. The only reference that most of us use when teaching leadership is Greenleaf’s and Blanchard’s explanation of servant leadership, so having more scripture to refer to when explaining Godly leadership is imperative. The areas of the book, however, that are lacking in advancing the study of leadership are in the discussion of leaders in secular organizations; the addition of this would make this book a great book for Christians in the marketplace.

‘Rooted Leadership: Seeking God’s Answers to the Eleven Core Questions Every Leader Faces’ by John E. Johnson was published in 2022 by Zondervan (ISBN: 978-0-310-120872). 282 pp.

Andrea Soberg is a retired professor of human resource management from Trinity Western University in Canada. She continues to be active within the global academic and business community by researching, writing, and assisting organizations that have a focus on business as mission.

Andrew Hartropp, an Anglican Minister with doctorates in both theology and economics, has written this introductory book to help equip people to ‘live and speak for Jesus Christ in today’s world’ with the underlying conviction that doing economic justice is indeed part of this living and speaking for Christ. Its arguments are laid out clearly and the book is well written and accessible.

The balanced tone is set in the opening chapter which recognises that there are alternative foundations for justice (rights, needs and merits) and that in a pluralistic world an agreed understanding of justice can be elusive. Accordingly, Hartropp outlines a biblical understanding of economic justice which provides the framework for the book as a whole. It’s an understanding that rests on the claims that justice, including economic justice, is rooted in who God is, that God has built justice into creation and that the Bible discloses to us what justice is (page 12).

Hartropp identifies four key aspects of a biblical understanding of economic justice. ‘It means treating people appropriately, according to the norms and principles given by God; it requires a special concern for people who are poor, needy and economically weak; it emphasizes the quality of relationships – notably one-to-one relationships; and it means that everyone participates in God’s blessings, including material blessings’ (page 148).

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Part One of the book looks at how we do economic justice in our own relationships as consumers, in the workplace and in local church communities.

The reader is challenged to look critically at the dominance of consumerism in today’s culture and to be aware of how this is at variance with God’s values before considering how their money should be spent. In the workplace, the emphasis is on the relationship with the whole person and the requirement for employees to be treated with respect, to have a fair wage, good working conditions and opportunities for personal development. At the same time the responsibility of the Christian employee to work hard and give of their best because their work will be pleasing to the Lord (Colossians 3) is a valuable reminder that doing economic justice entails mutual obligations between employee and employer (page 66) and also between borrower and lender (Psalm 37.21 page 25). The prompt settlement of invoices could have been included amongst these mutual responsibilities.

The second part of the book focuses on doing economic justice in wider society and the influence ‘that followers of Christ can have in and through the organizations and structures of which they are a part’ (page 89). In successive chapters, Hartropp looks at what this might mean in firms and corporations, banks and financial institutions and the place of government both nationally and globally.

The principles that were earlier espoused in the workplace are played out again on a larger scale when looking at firms and corporations. There is an admirably even-handed discussion about flexible working and zero hours contracts (page 108) and disquiet at, though not outright condemnation of, the levels of Chief Executive Officer pay in UK companies and the huge pay ratio between them and the average employee – 148:1 in 2014 among FTSE 100 CEOs (page 111).

When looking at banks and other financial institutions, the author includes a useful summary of the run-up to the 2007-8 financial crisis and helps us see excessive lending, borrowing and debt as a failure of the kind of relational justice that biblical economic justice requires. He seeks to adapt and apply the ancient biblical principle of Jubilee as a way of restoring relationships and offering hope for those trapped with burdensome debt and he is realistic about the way that a prevailing culture preys on fallen humanity’s susceptibility for greed, pride and folly. Wisely, there is no guide for a banking policy but rather the chapter aims to equip people with ways of thinking about some of the major challenges of finance (page 142).

This same caution is displayed when exploring the role of government in tackling the challenges of poverty and inequality both in the UK and globally. Returning to the four principles of biblical economic justice, Hartropp writes, ‘The call to do justice is to all people. Therefore it is not intrinsic to doing economic justice that the state must have a part to play’ (page 148, my emphasis). At the same time, he does not adopt a libertarian position but rather argues that, adhering to biblical principles, leaders should uphold relational economic justice, focus on the poor and act against economic oppression (page 163), an oppression which may or may not have been caused by market failure. In a brief section towards the end of the book, there is reference to Catholic Social Teaching and how its notion of subsidiarity can challenge the centralizing tendency of modern government (page 167).

The book introduces the reader to complex subjects and never over-reaches itself. It is balanced and has plenty of reminders not just of the obligations that fall on the economically advantaged, but also the responsibilities that remain with the disadvantaged. It is aware of prevailing culture and calls on Christians to counter aspects of it, not least by daring to believe that all work is for the glory of God.

Since, as the author says, ‘Much of what the Bible teaches about economic justice is common sense’ (page 19), it is not entirely clear who the book is for. Even if our common sense does sometimes desert us, the thoughtful reader – Christian or otherwise – will surely have worked out already many of the principles espoused in the first part of the book.

The second part of the book, looking at wider society or the ‘Public Square’, avoids any attempt to be a manual, but to help people in their thinking would have benefitted from a deeper consideration of economic forces at work. In particular, the potentially idolatrous nature of money, the way it is ‘made’ and the way it functions  makes it such an important part of today’s culture that it cannot be ignored. Likewise, the ever-expanding role of the state and the consequences of government debt are matters that need illumination.

The author can rightly point out that this was deliberately beyond the remit of the book and also that this review in 2024 is of a book first published in 2019. The prevailing culture which so shapes us has changed considerably since then, all of which would encourage an updated and expanded second edition of this introductory book which the author is well qualified to produce.

‘God’s Good Economy: Doing Economic Justice in Today’s World’ by Andrew Hartropp was published in 2019 by Inter Varsity Press (ISBN: 978-1-78359-764-2). 215pp.

Rev Canon Andrew Studdert-Kennedy is Team Rector of Uxbridge in the Diocese of London. Before ordination, he studied PPE at Oxford and during the 1980s worked in the City and as a Researcher for two MPs. He has retained his interest in such matters.

The authors’ stated intention is to demystify sustainable investing for the ‘average’ individual retail investor who is motivated to achieve the dual goals of profit and purpose. They do this through a detailed examination of the many forms such investment might take, the provision of extensive on-line resources for investigating possibilities and the use of ‘Takeaways’ at the end of each chapter. These are a series of bullet points setting out the main points which the reader should note from the chapter, together with questions that they need to answer for themselves. The reader is encouraged to clarify their thinking as they go along, for example, the values that they wish to promote, their risk preferences and time horizon.

The authors are clearly masters of their subject. Yet unlike many experts writing on a complex subject, their language is clear and jargon-free throughout. The points that they make are illustrated through a wide range of examples. They make no assumptions about what investors’ values might be, and hence what they might think about issues such as the environment or investment in armaments. Instead they give advice on various places to look in order to invest in accordance with one’s values, including, say, strong support of the Second Amendment: the right to bear arms. They seek to provide a balanced explanation of the broad issues associated with sustainable investing concisely but authoritatively. Over the course of six chapters they aim to provide the thoughtful and conscientious reader with all the information they need to begin this form of investing.

Chapter One provides the context by examining the changing investment landscape and lays the foundation for the rest of the book. Chapter Two looks at corporate social responsibility and the evolving expectations about that and the obligations which follow. Chapter Three examines the social and religious values which shape sustainable investing. Chapter Four lays out the myriad investment options available. Chapter Five reviews the performance implications of sustainable investing. Finally, Chapter Six focuses on building a portfolio with a purpose.

The authors are clearly supportive of the concept of sustainable investing, which leads to them not challenging some of the common assumptions. They expect large corporations to be involved in significant social change without acknowledging some important questions. This would include the lack of democratic accountability, together with some corporate visions diverging widely from general social norms or even reality. One example would be the Gemini AI tool which, based on ideas about inclusivity, refused to depict images of white Vikings or Nazis, or only provided an image of the Pope as an Asian woman. Gemini was withdrawn within a month. The authors, however, seem to see corporations and social change as a seamless, wholly good thing.

There is not sufficient acknowledgement that there is no agreed definition of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance), what factors to include or what weighting is to be given to the different factors. The authors devote a paragraph (page 114) where inconsistent methods and ratings are mentioned, and then the investor is told to ensure that the rating provider’s approach is consistent with their preferences. This is unlikely to be helpful advice to the non-specialist. This lack of an agreed definition results in a range of dubious claims.  Owing to the time at which the authors finished writing (2021 at the latest) they do not cover the increasing regulatory scrutiny of ESG claims which has resulted in many products having to be withdrawn. It is still the case, however, that there remains such a divergence of approach that it is difficult for a retail investor to be sure of what is actually going on.

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Because the authors seek to cover every type of investment, many potential retail investors may feel overwhelmed by the astonishingly wide and conflicting possibilities available, particularly as set out in Chapter Four. This is one reason why I found the authors’ suggestion that readers can dip in and out of chapters depending on the topic unlikely to be helpful. Without previous explanation, much of the discussion would be impenetrable to the non-professional. The exception to this is Chapter Five, on performance. This might have been better placed as Chapter Two, as it gives a broad perspective within which the reader can locate some of the specifics, as well as reassuring an inexperienced investor worried that sustainable investment will inevitably result in poor performance.

It is not clear to me exactly who Chapter Six is aimed at. Building a portfolio is a complex task with multiple decision points. Certainly the material covers the necessary elements, but I considered it unlikely to be of particular value to the intended reader. High net worth individuals will almost certainly leave the detailed asset selection to their financial advisor.  Most other retail investors will not have sufficient funds to achieve the appropriate diversification that a portfolio brings, nor have the necessary knowledge and experience to stock pick. I would have liked to have seen a focussed discussion of the pros and cons of a bespoke portfolio versus buying into an existing fund.

The authors are based in the US, which inevitably means that this is their prime focus. This shows in their cultural, social and political assumptions. Most of their business examples are American; the extensive on-line resources cited are located there and focus on that market.  This reduces the pertinence of the book to those located elsewhere. Some of the options they suggest are not available in other markets or are in a different form. Regulatory and pension frameworks also differ. This is not to say that their work is not informative for non-US investors, but it does mean that potential investors will need to do more extensive personal research to find relevant information. The book does not quite live up to its sub-title: What Everyone Needs to Know.

A readership which might benefit would be financial advisors – not because they don’t already have the information, though there may be lacunae which could be filled – but because this book gives a clear, jargon-free route to explaining sustainable investment to a retail investor. Professionals can overlook the reality of expert and exclusive language which prevents some investors making a genuinely informed decision. If they had done nothing else, demystifying the language justifies the book’s publication. They have, however, also provided a useful resource for  potential investors. For readers prepared to make some effort to grasp the detail, this is a book which can inform their decisions and ably assist them to achieve their objective of investing for profit and in line with their values.

‘Sustainable Investing: What Everyone Needs to Know’ by H. Kent Baker, Hunter M. Holzhauer and John R. Nofsinger was published in 2022 by Oxford University Press (ISBN: 978-0-1976-4378-5). 272 pp.

Catherine Cowley has for more than 30 years been a Trustee of the Religious of the Assumption with particular responsibility for Investments.  Her doctoral thesis was on Ethics in the Financial Sector, and this remained the focus of her research, together with the application of Catholic Social Thought to business practice. Before retiring she taught Ethics at Heythrop College, University of London.

Geoffrey Jones is Isidor Strauss Professor of Business History at Harvard Business School and a fellow of the Academy of International Business. He is the author of several books in the broad field of business ethics from a historical perspective.

The author offers us a fascinating and informative historical review of what he calls “deeply responsible business”, a term which provides the framework for the book but which is, perhaps, slightly overworked. 

Jones uses the term “deep responsibility” to characterize the set of values of those “who have seen business as a way of improving society, and even solving the world’s problems” (page 4). He distinguishes his approach from both those who seek to rewrite the rules of the game, as he puts it, and also from the now somewhat discredited approaches of corporate social responsibility (although I could offer some defence of philanthropy in this regard). His central thesis “is that deeply responsible business leaders are motivated by a set of values that shape their practice” (page 5). Some might find that defining characteristic rather weak, but I welcome it, because it enables a proper discussion of values-based business approaches in a realistic way, dealing with character, integrity, wisdom and spirituality, without embracing neo-Marxist opposition to the market economy per se. Indeed, Jones specifically contests any idea that a manager in a for-profit business could never be virtuous.

 The book brings several important and significant insights.  Its most noteworthy contribution is placing the quest for responsible business into a longer historical view. Jones comprehensively demonstrates that it is not simply a recent phenomenon, but one with a long history that has exercised business leaders since industrialisation. He also helpfully places “deeply responsible business” into a global context, reminding us of the pitfalls of a simply western focus.

The book consists of ten chapters divided into three parts. The first four chapters are encompassed together under the heading “A Question of Responsibility.” Here Jones looks at some significant historical figures in business leadership and history. He covers George Cadbury, Edward Filene (the Boston businessman and pioneer of credit unions), Robert Bosch and examples from India (J.N. Tata) and Japan (Shibusawa Eiichi). This is the strongest, most insightful and interesting part of the book.

The first two chapters tell gripping stories, one of which I am very familiar with, and the other of which I knew nothing about. The first chapter deals with the story of the entrepreneurial Quaker, George Cadbury, who together with his brother, Richard, pioneered a moral approach to business. As Jones argues, given “this emphasis on trust and honesty, it is not surprising that Quaker enterprises became some of the earliest examples of socially responsible business” (page 25). Jones notes the central role of spirituality (here and elsewhere in the book in various forms), the importance of housing, welfare and flourishing of the workforce, the challenges of raising capital and the ownership structure and Cadbury’s wider commitment to the community. Virtue, wisdom and spirituality lay at the heart.

The second chapter was less familiar territory for me but I was captivated by the story. Edward Filene, born in 1860, ran the family retail business in Boston with his brother, Lincoln, and pioneered many business practices. Among his ethical approaches, he introduced employee training, paid high wages whilst seeking to keep prices low and was actively concerned with not only employee welfare, but also employee involvement. He introduced health and illness insurance and banking services for employees. Although Filene did not share their faith perspective, there are several crosscurrents here with the Quakers.

Geoffrey Jones quotes Filene that the purpose of business was to:

“serve people, not merely to support the business man concerned in it. I was not an idealist. I wanted profits. I even had a strong preference for becoming rich. Nevertheless, this discovery of what business really is did strange things to me. It made me want to serve” (page 53).

Of real interest was the story of Filene’s involvement in the development and promotion of the credit union network, which is a much more significant feature of the American financial landscape than, for example, in the UK. He was involved in the 1914 launch of the Massachusetts Credit Union and helped draft a series of eight principles of good practice (page 64). He launched the Massachusetts Credit Union Association in 1921 to promote the idea of credit unions which spread rapidly, although there was always some tension between state and federal provision. Filene was elected the first president of the Credit Union National Association in 1935, with 3,600 credit unions and 750,000 members. Those numbers had grown to 7,500 retail credit unions with 92 million members by 2010.

Part 2, “Turbulence” begins with a fascinating chapter on the history of Harvard Business School and its second dean, Wallace Donham, who had called in 1927 for business leaders to adopt what he called a higher level of responsibility (a further and helpful reminder of placing these ideas in historical context). Further chapters deal with the desire to reduce wealth disparities as an aim of business leaders, consumerism and some other matters. In these chapters the book slightly loses its way. They are the least convincing part of the book and certainly, on occasion, fall into virtue-signalling around business leaders’ personal political objectives and detracted from the really significant insights of the book. In particular, chapter 9, entitled “Social Three-Folding”, seems quite disconnected.

In Part 3, Geoffrey Jones brings us back to more contemporary debates with three chapters dealing with the rise of value driven business right through to the issues around ESG (“environmental, social and governance”) and B Corps. He provides a balanced overview of the strengths and challenges of these movements. He is particularly helpful with his supportive critique of B Corps – though there was no mention of the UK’s B Corp movement, which has made some advances. 

In his conclusion Jones reminds us of the reason why his book makes a good and useful contribution:

“As we delved into the history of deep responsibility, we saw many examples of business leaders across time and space who combined making profits and pursuing positive social impact” (page 342).

Jones argues that deeply responsible business will select an industry which does no harm (though that might be easier to define in some instances than others), will engage with stakeholders with respect and humility and support communities. He notes that affecting “a single city might be less glamorous than “reimagining capitalism”, but it can greatly enhance the lives of generations of people” (page 345).

Jones should be congratulated for recognising that a values-based approach to business has a long and honourable history but is not a panacea and that there are weaknesses as well as strengths. In this he is a realist and enhances his overall arguments. He recognises the values which shape character, virtue and spirituality and the need to convince the mainstream of business rather than simply movements on the margin. This is a good book, which I recommend, albeit slightly disappointed with the middle chapters.

“Deeply Responsible Business,” by Geoffrey Jones was published in 2023 by Harvard University Press (ISBN: 978-0-674-91653-1). 431pp.

Dr Richard Turnbull is the Director of the Centre for Enterprise, Markets & Ethics (CEME). For more information about Richard please click here.

Robert White is dean of faculty and assistant professor of philosophy at the American University in Bulgaria. He was previously Chair and dean of the Faculty of Business. He teaches courses on business ethics and the philosophy of capitalism and has previously written on Adam Smith and also on aspects of the idea of profit. He is thus well-qualified to write on the moral case for profit maximization.

The book consists of 7 chapters, but in reality is a book of two halves around the pivotal chapter 4 which provides brief portraits of businessmen as examples of virtue and character necessary for the moral basis for profit maximization. The first three chapters deal with the more theoretical basis, identifying the questions (chapter 1), the moral basis (chapter 2) and the notion of objective value (chapter 3). The last three chapters turn to clarifications around the concept (chapter 5), incomplete defences (chapter 6) and finally a critique of Corporate Social Responsibility (chapter 7).

In a context of frequent confusion over the proper role of business, together with the emergence of differing approaches to purpose from B-Corps to mutuality, this book makes a welcome case for the morality of profit maximization. The author brings out some important points that are frequently lost in the discussion, not least the emphasis on the moral rather than simply the economic case. In doing so he brings the topic back to a philosophical debate about both value and values.

The writing, however, is somewhat repetitive, circular, occasionally “preachy” and rather laborious which consequently loses some of the impact. The second half is increasingly polemic and hence likely to alienate some readers, – apart from an excellent discussion in chapter 6 on Milton Friedman, to which I will return. It concludes with a rather wasted last chapter attacking corporate social responsibility.

The real strength of Robert White’s approach is brought out in the first half of the book. The moral case for profit maximization is based on the value of what business produces and the virtue of how it is produced. This is a useful couplet in discussions around profit, shareholder value and so on and I would have liked a more reflective discussion on the relationship between the two. In summary, White argues that “Profit maximization is moral because profit is a businessman’s reward for creating goods or services that are of objective value” (page 62). He goes on to cite the wheel, the refrigerator and the shipping container as examples of goods produced of objective value that significantly contributed to human life and well-being.

White makes the important point that profit maximization does not mean either that it is prioritized above all other values or that unethical or suspect business practices are an inevitable consequence of a quest for it – such behaviours would fail the virtue test. He makes a crucial distinction between profit maximization and profit prioritization, the latter would require a businessman to act against his values which would be contrary to White’s concept of profit maximization. However, the sorts of examples that White quotes are often, though not exclusively, those of personal morality (for example, pornography, page 122); a more comprehensive discussion of how this distinction operates in the area of competing business or economic values would have been helpful.

The book takes a slightly different turn in chapter 4 with profiles of several historically prominent business figures, J.P. Morgan (1837-1913), John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) and Thomas Edison (1847-1931) together with the research scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895). He offers these as examples of virtuous businessmen and “models for a well-lived life” (page 96). To use just one example, that of Rockefeller, Robert White argues that through his Standard Oil company he both raised the quality of oil and reduced the price and, therefore, through this provision of fuel enhanced the quality of lives of millions of people. The point that we often overlook is the basic improvement in human life brought about through the efficient operation of the profit-maximizing corporation.

It is certainly true that Rockefeller identified goods of objective value that he was able to produce efficiently and effectively and that they contributed to the public good. In that sense a moral case is made.  It would nonetheless have been helpful for White to set out explicitly why, in this example, there is an inextricably link to profit maximization.

We do, however, see traces in this chapter of the beginnings of some of the polemic that emerges in the second half of the book. White turns in the second half of chapter 4 to deal with what he calls unjust accusations against his selected examples. Clearly he chose some contested figures, which he acknowledges. There are a number of “straw targets” set up to be shot down. For example, Rockefeller obtaining preferential rates from the railroads is seen not as an example of oligopolistic power but a consequence of a mixed rather than market economy (page 113). White accepts his examples were mixed characters but the comparison is always with their personal lives rather than business practices.

Chapters 5 and 6 approach the debate about the morality of profit maximization from a negative perspective, concentrating on what profit maximization is not more than its positive presentation. This makes for a more defensive reading and reasoning. The highlight of these chapters is an excellent discussion in chapter 6 around Milton Friedman’s famous maxim, in his 1970 New York Times article, “The Social Responsibility of Business Is To Increase Its Profits”. White notes that Friedman argued that the business corporation and its executives had an absolute responsibility to the owners of the business on whose behalf they acted and points out that this is not profit maximization as such and, if the owners had different, or mixed objectives, then the corporation and its executives must serve those aims – Friedman’s real argument is for the rights of shareholders to determine a corporation’s direction (page 154).

I agree with a good deal of the critique of Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) set out in chapter 7. However, this chapter sits somewhat ill-at-ease with the rest of the book and, in particular, falls into polemic. Why choose CSR for such treatment? The questions of business purpose and responsibility have rather moved on from the CSR approach. This chapter made the book feel somewhat dated and the chapter reads like an add-on, and, occasionally a rant. Why not an overview of alternative approaches to the morality of profit maximization?

This is an important book with a distinctive and creative approach to the question of the morality of profit maximization. It establishes a sound basic framework and asks some central questions. The book is, however, unnecessarily unbalanced, allowing polemic to emerge in defence of a rationale and well-founded set of ideas. It would have been improved by a more rigorous engagement with alternatives. The conclusion could, of course, remain, that there is a strong moral case for profit maximization rightly understood.

“The Moral Case for Profit Maximization,” by Robert White was published in 2020 by Lexington Books (ISBN: 978-1-4985-4265-4). 231pp.

Dr Richard Turnbull is the Director of the Centre for Enterprise, Markets & Ethics (CEME). For more information about Richard please click here.

Written by Harvard Business School professor Max Bazerman, Complicit: How We Enable the Unethical and How to Stop is published by Princeton University Press and features glowing praise from notables such as Cass Sunstein and Steven Pinker. Given this background, one expects a far different book than the one that it is.

The basic idea of the book is that when people think about the cause of unethical actions, they often fail to consider the many people who enabled the actions through various degrees of complicity. Relatedly, those who enable bad actors don’t think about their own role and the aggregate role of others in similar positions. At the outset, Bazerman claims, “In contrast to past accounts of these stories, Complicit will focus on the overlooked importance of others who were complicit in the bad behaviour.” (page 6) This is a sensible perspective, and one that I hoped would be investigated with sensitivity and precision. However, the book deals with an interesting ethical topic in a way that staggers in both senses of the word. 

The book consists of 11 chapters divided into three sections. After an introductory chapter, the first seven chapters present readers with profiles of complicit actors arranged by the type of complicity. Bazerman begins the book with two chapters on those who are most clearly complicit in extremely unethical acts (“true partners” and “collaborators”). As the book progresses through the second section, the degree of complicity declines with five chapters on “those who benefit from privilege, those who are true believers, those who defer to authority and loyalty, those who rely on their trust of others, and those who create and accept unethical systems” (page 12). The final section has one chapter on the psychology of complicity (though this is also covered in some of the chapters) before ending with two applied chapters: one on dealing with complicity on a personal level and another on developing institutional strategies to prevent complicity.

The march through the case studies might have worked if the case studies weren’t as high-profile and there were more of a focus on each example. Or, perhaps, if they were interspersed with the potential methods to stop a particular type of complicity shown in an example. Instead, the reader is left lurching as the author discusses, among others: Hitler, Trump (my worries began when the two were separated by seven words and a semi-colon in the introduction), the Sacklers, Weinstein, Elizabeth Holmes and Adam Neumann, along with many somewhat lesser-known figures. There is great range in the type of misdeed committed and the types of complicity that enabled the misdeed. The institutions in which these figures operated, and the incentives faced by those surrounding them varied considerably as well. Despite the often-enthralling stories presented, the reader is left adrift without much real explanation or robust ideas about how to stop complicity.

Much of the book is written in a way that suggests genuine concern with the misdeeds presented in the case studies and the various degrees of complicity that enabled them. This is often good, but in some cases, like the chapter “Benefiting from Privilege,” it reads like an older colleague trying to signal his ability to adjust to a changing landscape. This is part of a broader identity crisis for the book, which covers a lot but explains little about each of the wide range of ways that complicity can present itself in different contexts.

I held out hope for more specifics to be dealt with in the final chapters (pages 157–216) but was for the most part disappointed. These chapters dealing with the theoretical explanations for complicity and tangible steps that one can take to reduce it are themselves as meandering and full of journalistic anecdotes as the earlier chapters. After another bizarre introduction about Hitler and Trump, the first chapter of this final section of the book suggests it will elaborate on the psychological reasons for complicity. While it offers some detail and academic research, the things offered as explanations include the perceived differences between commission and omission, fear of retaliation, and a slippery slope of smaller misdeeds slowly escalating. These basic explanations might be sufficient had they been pursued in some depth, but they are dealt with cursorily. The following chapter offers some more tangible insights into strategies at the individual level for stopping complicity (reducing the risks to speaking up, deliberating more in advance, recognizing blind spots, and enlarging our circle of concern). But here again, the second part of the chapter is padded out with profiles of whistleblowers and others who actively overcame the tendency to become complicit. The final and perhaps most interesting chapter looks at the structural reasons for complicity and organizational tactics for preventing it.

Despite the weaknesses of the book, there are sections that are of real interest. Besides the most famous and compelling stories of Theranos and Purdue Pharma, the comparatively less well-known examples from later in the book may offer more relevant examples for readers. For instance, it is interesting to learn about the level of complicity involved in the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal, where senior members of the regional German government and trade unions were aware of the fraud but overwhelmed by their interests.

Separately, Bazerman’s personal role in the still ongoing scandals in psychology and behavioural economics where researchers such as Dan Ariely managed to secure global fame and permanent positions at top universities with research that is now clearly discredited in some cases because of outright data fraud. The personal email correspondence with his fellow coauthors (including Ariely) that Bazerman reproduces offer a new and interesting look at the topic. But even here he steers clear of the more interesting questions about the broader institutional context of the academy.

The most interesting parts of the book are those that deal with complicity encouraged by systems and relatedly institutional solutions to complicity. Part of Chapter 8 deals with the compelling topic of goal setting in organizations namely how explicit goals can overwhelm more tacit ethical standards and how conflicts of interest can create ripe situations for complicity. In some situations, the systemic problems were intentionally created, but in many of these scenarios, they only occurred because of accidental confluences of interests rather than conspiracy. Both are of interest and ripe for hard thinking about solutions. The most thoughtful solutions are offered in Chapter 11, but I came away thinking that the viability of any institutional solution requires a specificity that couldn’t be achieved by the scattershot approach of the book.

Sadly, even the more useful and relevant aspects of the book are drowned out by the repeated and sustained focus on lighting rods. A search of the text reveals that variations of “Trump” appear in the main text of the book nearly as much as any variation of “complicit.” “Nazi” appears 26 times. Even beyond this, after all the pages over which Bazerman has journalistically recounted the many, many examples of complicity, there is bizarrely little sustained explanation or ideas for how to structure organizations to prevent complicity. Readers should not seek out Complicit.

“Complicit: How We Enable the Unethical and How to Stop” by Max Bazerman was published in 2023 (UK) by Princeton University Press (ISBN: 978-0691236544) 264 pp.

At first glance some readers (myself included), might be mistaken to assume that Faith Driven Investing is another “how to” guide on ethical investing – it is not. In fact, the book has very little to say about investing per say and rather focuses on the “faith driven” investors themselves and the wider role of the Christian faith: What makes a Christian investor? What drives them? How do they influence change? How should a Christian think about risk? How are Christians in the financial sector or in business called to engage with the capital markets and money more generally? (pages 3-4).

These broader questions are tackled in the book by a collection of authors (seventeen to be exact). The contributors are mostly prominent practitioners within the field such as Cathie Wood, Luke Rousch and Richard Okello, as well as those with more of a theological/pastoral background such as Timothy Keller and Andy Crouch.

The structure of the book therefore comprises fourteen chapters representing individual essays that are collated within two larger sections. The first is called “Faith Driven Investors are…” while the second is titled “Therefore, They…”, reflecting the overarching intention of exploring who faith driven investors are and what they are called to do. The main audience of the book is Christian investors and entrepreneurs but those with a wider general interest in business as a force for good will find it worthwhile. The various essays use minimal technical jargon (be that in respect to theology or finance), making the book accessible to the layperson and specialist alike.

Timothy Keller (1950-2023), the late pastor and theologian from New York opens up the discussion in Chapter 1 with an intriguing take on personal identity and what it means to have an identity that is rooted in Christ. Keller writes that “…an identity that flows from who he is and what he has done for us changes everything. It radically transforms the way we work, the way we invest, the way we view money, all of it” (page 14). He then goes on to list four different ways in which this happens. We won’t enumerate all here but the third makes an interesting and important point: God (being omnipotent) could provide for our material needs directly yet he chooses not to do so and instead uses human work as a means of provision (page 15). This raises profound implications for the nature and value of work which, according to Keller, means that: 1. All work carries great dignity, even the most menial; 2. Through work we are “…God’s hands and fingers, sustaining and caring for his world”; 3. One of the main ways of pleasing God is simply to do our work well (page 16).  These assertions are consistent with the historic Protestant view of work of which Martin Luther was an early advocate.  Those who wish to explore them further could read other books reviewed on our website such as Why Business Matters to God, Business for the Common Good and Tides of Life.

In Chapter 4 Luke Rousch, cofounder of Sovereign Capital brings a fresh challenge to some established normative positions that many Christian investors take. Rousch spent his entire career in large scale business commercialisation and development and argues that for too long faith driven investors have become known for what they are against, rather than what they are for (page 59). He rightly points out that this is a missed opportunity for Christian investors to become better known for what they stand for in the world and not merely for what they stand against. Part of the problem, Rousch argues, is “that it’s easier to avoid things than it is to engage with them. That’s also true in life, not just investing” (page 62). Avoiding “sinful” industries altogether such as tobacco, adult entertainment and so on is perhaps the most obvious example. The risk is that we end up steep in legalism and behaving like the Pharisees did. Sure, negative screening is important when it comes to constructing an investment portfolio but “…we are called to lean in, with truth shared in love, and celebrate the great things God is doing in and through the marketplace. We must seek out, embrace, and pour ourselves into the creation of new things” (page 62). Rousch thus argues for a more proactive approach where we should seek “…a balance between negative screens, positive screens and active engagement” (page 63).

Casey Crawford, CEO and founder of Movement Mortgage concludes the discussion with a reminder to seek God’s larger perspective rather than our own, “…are we working for our return of for God’s return?” (page 198). In the Parable of the Tenants we have the example of the tenant who did nothing with what was given to him, Crawford argues that we must maintain an attitude of expectancy of the coming new Kingdom. This doesn’t necessarily mean “…working harder so we’ll have more success to show God. It’s about seeking our work as an act of service to the Master” (page 199).

In summary, “Faith Driven Investing: Investment Has an Impact–What’s Yours?” is not a “how to” guide on ethical investing and those seeking investment strategies or advice should look elsewhere. It is however a compelling collection of essays that stand at the intersection of finance, theology, and the broader implications of truly living out the Christian faith. A thoroughly recommended read for all those with an interest in the subject.

“Faith Driven Investing – Every Investment Has an Impact–What’s Yours?” by Henry Kaestner, Timothy Keller et al. was published in 2022 by Tyndale House Publishers (ISBN 1496474481, 9781496474483), 240pp.

Andrei E. Rogobete is Associate Director at the Centre for Enterprise, Markets & Ethics. For more information about Andrei please click here.