Reforming Capitalism The Scientific Worldview and Business Routledge Studies in Business Ethics Series

This book examines the role that the traditional understanding of science plays in how we understand the capitalistic system and how it informs business and business school education. Science serves many purposes in business organizations; it is much more than just a method to gain knowledge about business problems. It acculturates students to a certain way of thinking about the world and provides a rationale for the things business does and a justification for its purposes in society. It then utilizes the philosophy of Classical American Pragmatism to view science in a different manner, reconceptualizing the multiple environments in which business functions. Author Rogene Buchholz traces the implications of this view for our understanding of the corporation, how science is used in business organizations, the recent financial crisis, and finally what it means for management and management education. No other book examines capitalism and the business system from this unique and timely perspective.

Introduction Part 1: The Traditional Scientific Worldview 1. The Rise of Modern Science and Its Characteristics 2. Values and Ethics 3. Economics 4. Politics 5. Culture 6. Nature Part 2: Toward A New Understanding of Science 7. The Pragmatic View of Science and Its Characteristics 8. Pragmatism and Values 9. Pragmatism and Economics 10. Pragmatism and Politics 11. Pragmatism and Culture 12. Pragmatism and Nature Part Three: Implications for Business 13. The Corporation and Community 14. Business and Science 15. Financial Armageddon 16. Management and an Ethic of Service. Selected Bibliography. Notes. Index

Rogene A. Buchholz is the Legendre-Soule Chair in Business Ethics Emeritus in the College of Business Administration at Loyola University, New Orleans. He has published over seventy-five articles and is the author or co-author of twelve books in the areas of business and public policy, business ethics, and the environment.