"Prof Mayer’s main target is Milton Friedman’s argument that the purpose of companies is only to make profits, subject to law and (minimal) regulation. Today, this is presented as the obligation to maximise shareholder value. Behind this is the view, which goes back to Adam Smith, that the principal challenge is the 'agency problem' — the relationship between owners and agents (the managers). 'The problem with the Friedman view,' insists Prof Mayer, 'is that it is hopelessly naive.' It is based on 'simple and elegant economic models that simply do not hold in practice'. The idea that businesses pursue profits and only profits, can, he argues, only produce bad businesses and dire outcomes. This is so for three reasons: human, social and economic. [...] The implication of Prof Mayer’s book is that the canonical Anglo-American model of corporate governance, with equality among shareholders, widely distributed share-ownership, shareholder value maximisation and the market in control is just one of many possible ways of structuring corporations. There is no reason to believe it is always the best. In some cases, it works. In others, such as highly-leveraged banking, it really does not. We should be explicitly encouraging a thousand different flowers of governance and control to bloom."

"So far, the defenders of capitalism have failed to find a convincing voice or to offer any significant ways to improve how business is perceived. Now, in his new book, Prosperity: Better Business Makes the Greater Good, Colin Mayer [...] provides answers and a coherent manifesto for change. [...] Mayer calls for a reinvention of the corporation centred on values and a purpose that encompasses social good. He calls for ownership to be in the hands of investors with a real interest in long-term sustainability and in corporate governance that holds business leaders accountable both for defining corporate purpose and for delivering it. He envisions a world of 'purpose pursuing people and companies, enabled by law, committed by regulation, partnering with government' that can realize the corporation’s full potential to contribute to economic and social wellbeing of all."

"The book argues passionately and convincingly that making a profit for its owners is an essential task of business, but certainly not the purpose of a company. A corporation is not a set of contracts, but of relationships: 'Those relations are based on trust. That trust depends on commitment and that commitment is to the purpose of the corporation – a purpose that inspires and unites all to a common goal of producing profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet.' Mayer points out that in the US and UK, public equity markets are shrinking as companies delist and private equity grows. He argues the merits of family owned businesses, including additional voting rights to protect their interests, I’m not convinced by this. [...] The book ends though with some pragmatic reforms [...] These seem perfectly sane and practical. Will any government pick them up?"