Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcasts
  • About Us
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Cold Call Podcast
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Business Summit: The Future of Market Capitalism
      16 Jun 2009Research Event

      Business Summit: The Future of Market Capitalism

      Professor Michael E. Porter leads a discussion on the shortcomings of the capitalist system and ways the business community can better serve broader societal interests.
      LinkedIn
      Email

      Editor's Note: This is a summary of an HBS Business Summit presentation. View a full summary and video of the event on the HBS Centennial Web site linked below.

      Date of Event: October 14, 2008
      Moderator: Michael Porter, HBS faculty
      Speakers: Thierry Breton, France's Former Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industry; Senior Lecturer, HBS
      Sir Ronald M. Cohen, Chairman, Portland Capital LLP, Portland Trust, Bridges Ventures
      Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the White House's National Economic Council; Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University

      Professor Michael Porter led a discussion among panel members on the shortcomings of the capitalist system and ways the business community can better serve broader societal interests. Topics included social entrepreneurship, the role of public policy, and the development of a stronger safety net for workers.

      Today, the world faces an agonizing dilemma: Wealth creation comes from market capitalism, yet the market system has been hard for many parts of society, resulting in insecurities and inequalities. Under political pressure to make changes, the business world and the public sector must devise strategies and policies for revamping the capitalist system.

      Possible solutions include applying business principles to societal problems through social entrepreneurship, and seeking profits in ways that also make a broader contribution to society.

      Key concepts include:

      • There is a growing sense that capitalism is failing.
      • The capitalist system must change and help to support a safety net for workers.
      • Social entrepreneurship is coming of age, but must be developed into a formal profession.
      • In addition to social entrepreneurship, broad-reaching public policies are needed.
      • There are many ways businesses can address social problems, while still satisfying their own self-interest.
      • Read the in-depth summary

      For more coverage and video:
      http://www.hbs.edu/centennial/businesssummit/market-capitalism/the-future-of-market-capitalism-panel.html

          Trending
            • 13 Jan 2021
            • Research & Ideas

            How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

            • 11 Jan 2021
            • Research & Ideas

            Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups

            • 13 Jul 2020
            • Research & Ideas

            Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

            • 29 Oct 2020
            • Research & Ideas

            The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

            • 06 Jan 2021
            • Research & Ideas

            Unexpected Exercise Advice for the Super Busy: Ditch the Rigid Routine

        Michael E. Porter
        Michael E. Porter
        Bishop William Lawrence University Professor
        Contact
        Send an email
        → More Articles
        Find Related Articles
        • Economics

        Sign up for our weekly newsletter

        Interested in improving your business? Learn about fresh research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty.
        ǁ
        Campus Map
        Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
        Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
        Soldiers Field
        Boston, MA 02163
        Email: Editor-in-Chief
        →Map & Directions
        →More Contact Information
        • Make a Gift
        • Site Map
        • Jobs
        • Harvard University
        • Trademarks
        • Policies
        • Digital Accessibility
        Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College