Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Other Economic Leaders (Hardcover)

~ Michael Kinsley (Editor), Conor Clarke (Contributor)
Key Phrases: creative capitalism, creative capitalists, Bill Gates, Richard Posner, Michael Kremer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The content of journalist, editor, and author (The Best of Slate, 2006; Please Don’t Remain Calm, 2008) Kinsley’s fifth book is somewhat of a novelty in its physicality and its subject matter. The content was generated after the “creative capitalism” speech by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, via a series of responses, rejoinders, and reviews threaded through a blog. Interesting, too, is the actual substance and the timing of this publication; the question is, after all: Should a corporation do good and still own up to its fiduciary responsibility of maximizing profits? The conversations here are wide-ranging and fluid, captured from contributors with no small credentials—Harvard and MIT professors, former U.S. government officials, at least one Nobel Prize winner, and other foundation heads. Although no conclusions are reached, the dialogue is stimulating and the questions numerous: Isn’t regular capitalism good enough? Does being recognized as a good citizen make a difference? Yet timing plays a huge part in the answers: How will the current economic downturn impact these “do good” inclinations? --Barbara Jacobs

Product Description

Bill Gates is more than the world's most successful capitalist; he's also the world's biggest philanthropist.

Gates has approached philanthropy the same way he revolutionized computer software: with a fierce ambition to change the rules of the game. That's why at the 2008 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Gates advocated a creative capitalism in which big corporations, the distinguishing feature of the modern global economy, integrate doing good into their way of doing business.

This controversial new idea is discussed and debated by the more than forty contributors to this book, among them three Nobel laureates and two former U.S. cabinet secretaries. Edited by author and columnist Michael Kinsley, Creative Capitalism started as a first-of-its-kind online conversation that brought together some of the world's best minds to engage Gates's challenge. From Warren Buffett, who seconds Gates's analysis, to Lawrence Summers, who worries about the consequences of multiple corporate objectives, the essays cover a broad spectrum of opinion. Judge Richard Posner dismisses Gates's proposal as trumped-up charity that will sap the strengths of the profit-maximizing corporation, while journalist Martin Wolf maintains that the maximization of profit is far from universally accepted, and rightly so. Chicago Nobel laureate Gary Becker wonders whether altruistic companies can survive in a competitive economy, while Columbia Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps argues that a little altruism might be the right prescription for a variety of market imperfections.

Creative Capitalism is not just a book for philanthropists. It's a book that challenges the conventional wisdom about our economic system, a road map for the new global economy that is emerging as capitalism adapts itself once again to a changing world.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141659941X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416599418
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #192,917 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, January 7, 2009

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In 2008 Bill Gates advocated that big corporations integrate doing good into their way of doing business. "Creative Capitalism" begins with that proposal, and follows with a number of individual comments, both pro and con.

Gates points out that capitalism harnesses self-interest in helpful and sustainable ways, but only on behalf of those who can pay. Profits are not always possible when business tries to serve the very poor. Thus, there needs to be another market-based incentive - recognition.

Recognition enhances a company's reputation and appeals to customers; it also attracts good people to the organization.

Potential Creative Capitalism Mechanisms: Tiered pricing (eg. for vaccines used in both the developed and third world) is one existing mechanism. Priority for approval reviews of a for-profit drug can be offered to companies that also develop a new drug for a neglected disease such as malaria.

Warren Buffett, normally a strong Gates supporter, however, had other perspectives. He pointed out that emotional public reactions can be a problem - eg. donations to pro-choice efforts. Further, corporations donating a specified percentage of profits/revenues to "cause X" are only successful in the short run, though they do raise awareness.

Michael Kinsley raises other problems. Eg. giving priority in new drug approval reviews begs the question of "Why the delay to start with?" Perhaps it is due to important cautionary concerns; or, it simply may reflect a need for an improved review process or the need for greater funding. Then there's the manipulation potential - eg. ExxonMobil spent 3X as much publicizing its support for Masterpiece Theater as it did for the actual support.

Others asserted that Gates' ideal only works where there are sustainable (protected) profits - eg. new product, monopoly, etc.; that there aren't that many products with a unique demand in Third-World vs. developed countries (probably literally true, though the former's emphasis on extremely low-cost can also be construed as constituting unique products); that business already has an incentive to help the poor via seeking out low-cost producers (eg. China); that "Corporate Social Responsibility" people are typically woolly-headed and ineffectual; that foreign charity can reduce the pressure for good government in poor countries; and that businesses should instead stop trying to circumvent markets working well via tariffs, quotas, subsidies, etc.

Larry Summers' also had an interesting insight. Wanting to harness the profit motive to meet the social objective of increased home-ownership, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were employed. The illusion that they were doing virtuous work made it impossible to build a political case for serious regulation. On the other hand, market discipline as nearly non-existent given the perception that their debt was government-backed. Meanwhile, complaints of social failures were met by claims of a need to perform for shareholders. Thus, accountability for both objectives was largely lost.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creative Capitalism-A creative way to express diverse views, January 6, 2009

By	John H. Chang (LA,CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Timely subject. Excellent collection of differing points of view from people that should know.A quick and provactive read.