WOKE CAPITALISM
How Corporate Morality is Sabotaging Democracy
Shortlisted for The Business Book Awards 2022 International Business
'Why progressive gestures from big business aren’t just useless – they’re dangerous' in The Guardian
'Prince Harry’s critics have a point: woke capitalism is no solution' in The Conversation
'The ‘war on woke’ pits corporate elites against conservatives. So who will win?' in The New Daily
'The woke business school' in The PRME Blog
'Getting woke to woke capitalism' on Transforming Society
'PODCAST: How woke capitalism is sabotaging democracy' on Transforming Society
Genre:
Economy & Politics
Author:
Carl Rhodes
Publisher:
Bristol U.P. - Policy Press
Language:
English
AUTHOR BIO:
Carl Rhodes is Professor of Organization Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. He researches the ethical and democratic dimensions of business and work. Carl regularly writes for the mainstream and independent press on issues related to ethics, politics and the economy.
Pages:
240
Publication:
2021
Rights available:
All except China, Germany, Korea, Japan, Taiwan
Rights Sold: Italian, Japanese
DESCRIPTION:
Does ‘woke capitalism’ improve capitalism’s image or does it threaten the future of democracy?
From Nike’s support for Colin Kaepernick, to Gillette’s engagement with the toxic masculinity debate, the 21st century has seen a sharp increase in corporations taking over public morality, a phenomenon which has come to be known as ‘woke capitalism’.
Carl Rhodes takes us on a lively and fascinating history of woke capitalism – from 1950s corporate social responsibility, through 1980s neoliberalism, tracing it alongside the adoption and mutation of the term ‘woke’ from Black American culture – and brings us right up to current-day debates.
By examining the political causes that woke capitalism has co-opted, and the social causes that it has not, he argues that this surreptitious extension of capitalism has serious implications for us all.
Contents:
The Problem With Woke Capitalism
Corporate Populists
The Woke Reversal
Capitalism Goes Woke
Shareholder Primacy
A Wolf in Woke Clothing
All That Glitters is Not Green
The CEO Activist
The Race to Wokeness
Racial Capitalism/Woke Capitalism
The Best a Woke Corporation Can Be
The Right Hand Gives
Getting Woke to Woke Capitalism
REVIEWS:
“The workplace has become politicised as never before and companies are struggling to adjust to the demands of younger consumers and employees… [Woke Capitalism] examines the history of this phenomenon — from corporate social responsibility, through neoliberalism and the debates about the topic — as well as the political causes it has adopted and the implications for all of us.” Financial Times; "This insightful book traces the history and manifestations of ‘woke’ ideas in relation to big business, capitalism and democracy - reading it will reveal how awake you really are!" Thomas Calvard, University of Edinburgh Business School; “Businesses increasingly talk about value, purpose and responsibility. In this beautifully written book, Carl Rhodes asks us to consider whether these companies c...
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