Status
Available
Genres
Publication
New York : The Free Press, 1996.
Description
Business is routinely dismissed as soulless, valueless and rapacious. This book argues against this by saying that business not only creates social connections, lifts its participants out of poverty, and builds the foundations for democracy, but can and must be morally uplifting. Novak defends business executives and provides a philosophy to guide their thinking. He presents their key moral ideas, including the creation of the idea of progress, and attempts to show how the moral risk of materialism can be countered by a cultivation of natural virtue.
User reviews
LibraryThing member RonManners
"Why do we work so hard at our jobs, day after day? Why is a job well done important to us? We know
there is more to a career than money and prestige, but what exactly do we mean by "fulfillment. Why are people in business more religious than the population as a whole? What do people of business
This book explains an important part of our lives in a new way.. A larger proportion than ever before of the world's Christians, Jews, and other peoples of faith are spending their working lives in business. Business is a profession worthy of a person's highest ideals and aspirations, fraught with moral possibilities both of great good and of great evil. Novak takes on agonizing problems, such as downsizing, the tradeoffs that must sometimes be faced between profits and human rights, and the pitfalls of philanthropy. He also examines the daily questions of how an honest day's work contributes to the good of many people, both close at hand and far away. Our work connects us with one another. It also makes possible the universal advance out of poverty, and it is an essential prerequisite of democracy and the institutions of civil society."
Taken from the Back Cover.
there is more to a career than money and prestige, but what exactly do we mean by "fulfillment. Why are people in business more religious than the population as a whole? What do people of business
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know, and what do they do, that anchors their faith? Michael Novak ties together these crucial questions by explaining the meaning of work as a vocation. Work should be more than just a job—it should be a calling.This book explains an important part of our lives in a new way.. A larger proportion than ever before of the world's Christians, Jews, and other peoples of faith are spending their working lives in business. Business is a profession worthy of a person's highest ideals and aspirations, fraught with moral possibilities both of great good and of great evil. Novak takes on agonizing problems, such as downsizing, the tradeoffs that must sometimes be faced between profits and human rights, and the pitfalls of philanthropy. He also examines the daily questions of how an honest day's work contributes to the good of many people, both close at hand and far away. Our work connects us with one another. It also makes possible the universal advance out of poverty, and it is an essential prerequisite of democracy and the institutions of civil society."
Taken from the Back Cover.
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LibraryThing member porch_reader
I read this book as background reading for a research project that I'm doing on how people discern their vocational calling and how they develop an identity as a called professional. For my research, we are focused specifically on callings that allow people to express their true selves, pursue a
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unique purpose, use their unique strengths, and meet an important societal need. Novak's book takes a slightly broader perspective on business as a calling. Although he starts by discussing what is meant by a calling, he goes on to argue that business and capitalism in general are morally serious callings. He acknowledges that business is often carried out unethically, but he also argues that business is intertwined with three cardinal virtues - creativity, community, and practical realism. He also emphasizes that business has both internal and external responsibilities that underlie the potential for business to make the world a better place. I was hoping for a bit more focus in this book, but once I accepted it as a broad meditation on business as a calling, I enjoyed the societal perspective and thoughtful insights. Show Less