Reseña de Choise

This masterful book provides a progressive agenda congruent with institutional pluralism in the US. Kotler (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern Univ.) lays out a thesis that is timely in light of regressive, irrational policies that have riven the nation of late. Defining the common good in relation to happiness and well-being, major social problems, activism, and policy tools, the author looks at how business, government, and nonprofit organizations can work to better address human needs. He devotes a chapter to each, but "What Business Can Do to Advance the Common Good" is especially convincing. In it the author elaborates on how corporate social responsibility has morphed into companies placing stakeholders on a par with shareholders, the emergence of "B [benefit] corporations," the "giving pledge" amplifying charitable giving, and "just capital." A vigorous democracy can aid government in adjusting policies to advance the common good, although Supreme Court decisions such as Citizens United v. FEC have favored wealthy corporations and individuals over unions and citizens. Much of governmental contribution to the common good depends on regulation. Activist nonprofits, such as Ashoka, have been at the forefront of innovations advancing the common good. This book provides an excellent introduction to American progressivism. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. --David Stoesz, independent scholar