Topic: Adam Smith

Capitalize on the Invisible Hand...of Time

There's no "invisible hand" more famous than Adam Smith's description of the force that guides free markets toward efficiency. After studying time and attention for the last several years, it's very clear to me that there are also ...READ»

Is Goldman Sachs the Face of Capitalism?

Goldman Sachs is the smartest, toughest, most aggressive, most powerful player in the world: They have the most powerful political connections. They have the most competitive culture. They make the most money. They win more than almost anybody else. They are the biggest dog in the world. In other words, you could think about Goldman Sachs the way most of the world thinks of the United States.READ»

The Week in Health Reform

The Week in Health Reform—Federal Legislative OverviewThe White HouseOn March 3, President Obama continued his push for Members of Congress to complete health insurance reform legislation within the upcoming weeks. He delivered a ...READ»

Philosophy Is Back in Business

The financial and climate crises, global consumption habits, and other 21st-century challenges call for a "killer app." I think I've found it: philosophy. Philosophy can help us address the (literally) existential challenges the world currently confronts, but only if we take it off the back burner and apply it as a burning platform in business, says Dov Seidman. READ»

The Moral Bankruptcy of Modern Economic Globalization

Globalization is thought the next step forward march in the linear dance trajectory insofar as human economic evolution. Beginning with the inception of humanity in and of itself, cave men, human tribalism, city states, nation states and finally globalization and its associated global liberal economic markets as Adam Smith envisaged. Everything is “for sale” in the 21st century from human worth to international justice.READ»

How an Economist's Cry for Ethical Capitalism was Heard

Not long ago, economist Noreena Hertz lived at the lefty margins of her field. But her (widely ignored) prediction of the credit crisis and her call for a more evolved form of capitalism have suddenly put her at the center of the universe.READ»

Economics: Economists are Irrational!

I would love to put these economists on the couch and explore what is going on in their heads that enables them to observe the objective reality of the recent economic devastation, yet still hold as sacred their most basic, yet obviously flawed, beliefs about a free-market-driven financial system.READ»

Has the Face of Capitalism Changed Forever?

Jose D. Roncalwww.financialspeculation.comThe current financial crisis has changed our perceptions of the term capitalism and everything we have always assumed it stood for. The deeper the recession gets, the longer it drags on, the ...READ»

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

DEVELOPMENT GINGERED BY RESEARCHREAD»

The Meaning of "Life Inc."--a Conversation With Author Douglas Rushkoff

In his latest book, Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back (Random House), Douglas Rushkoff claims that currency was invented to prevent transactions and put a brake on economic growth, ...READ»

• Life, Inc. Chapter Seven: From Ecology to Economy

Chapter Seven: From Ecology to Economy

Big Business and the Disconnect from ValueREAD»

Corporate Social Responsibility is Just Self-Interest

The world has changed. Even in this economic downturn corporations are being pressured to adopt socially responsible and sustainable practices. But how much should business be responsible for? And where are the lines between business, government and non-profits? READ»

Reflections on a Depression: I’ve Got All This Blame, Where do I Put it?

Wherever he is, Chicken Little is probably grinning. For many Americans these days, it feels like the sky is falling, and financially speaking, the evidence supports Mr. Little’s claim. The consensus around here is that we are ...READ»

Evolutionary Economics: Bottom Up Solutions to Business Problems

A new science called evolutionary economics offers fresh insights into how the business landscape isn't controlled from the top.READ»

• How to Build a Brand Like Obama
• Customer Focused Companies

Reading List: The New Capitalists

Ordinary investors are holding more sway, write the authors of The New Capitalists.READ»

The Wal-Mart You Don't Know

The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?READ»

Good to Great

Start with 1,435 good companies. Examine their performance over 40 years. Find the 11 companies that became great. Now, here's how you can do it too.READ»

Smart Steps

What smart steps should business leaders be taking to deal with Act II of the new economy? Maybe the smartest thing to do is to take stock of Act I: What lessons did we learn in the first five years of the new economy?READ»

Good News - It's a Small World

Who cares where our cars, computers, or clothes are made? If December's "Battle of Seattle" is any indication, lots of people do. A book by two savvy journalists makes the case for globalization.READ»

How to Be Your Own Futurist

Advice from Watts Wacker on how to stay ahead of the curve.READ»

The Trillion-Dollar Vision of Dee Hock

The corporate radical who organized Visa wants to dis-organize your company.READ»

Games Theory

If you ever get busted for playing solitaire, here's the EverQuest defence. Clive Thompson writes in The Walrus about Edward Castronova and his paper Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian ...READ»

Customer Loyalty Matrimony

Tom's comment got me thinking in terms of customer loyalty as marrying a customer with a company. The similarities are endless... rich territory for discussion. Is your loyalty to a company as fleeting as the loyalty you had to ...READ»