Capitalism at Risk

Preface and Acknowledgments

This book had its beginnings nearly five years ago, when preparations began for the celebration of the hundredth birthday of Harvard Business School. Dean Jay Light convened various groups of faculty to develop plans appropriate to the occasion. A major gathering of distinguished alumni and business leaders would mark the occasion with presentations and debate. As we took in the discussion, we realized that while the idea of a business school was quite ordinary in 2007, Harvard’s decision to set up a business school in 1908 was anything but. The founding of Harvard Business School was a forward-thinking and somewhat radical idea. Was there an equivalent idea today?

Steeped as we are in the case-method approach to the ...