THIS BOOK IS AN ELECTRONIC, BUDGET-FRIENDLY ($25) REISSUE OF THE ORIGINAL 2016 EDITION. IT IS AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE. Faculty interested in receiving a complimentary desk copy, please write to twhiteATethicsandbusiness.org.
A variety of disturbing events – not least of which is the ongoing concentration of the nation’s wealth in the hands of a very small percentage of the population – have given us reason to question a number of basic assumptions about business, corporations, and the workings of contemporary free-market capitalism in a global economy. Written as a fictional dialogue between a bank CEO and a unique venture capitalist whose friends have nicknamed “Socrates,” Socrates Comes to Wall Street challenges readers to think critically about ideas and practices that are taken as “givens” in most American corporations and business schools. Honoring the spirit of the historical Socrates’ claim the “the unexamined life is not worth living,” this book suggests that relentless scrutiny by a contemporary Socrates shows that a number of these assumptions are likely false–the product of ideology, not facts. Employing this original and provocative approach, business ethicist Thomas White seeks to encourage current and future business leaders to be more astute about recognizing the ethical implications of their actions, and to act more prudently and more fairly than we have seen in the recent past.