Accountable: The Rise of Citizen Capitalism

4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars | 83 ratings

Price: 21.25

Last update: 02-03-2025


About this item

“More than ever before, this is the book our economy needs.” (Dr. Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation)

“Unwilling to settle for easy answers or superficial changes, O’Leary and Valdmanis push us all to ask more of our economic system.” (Senator Michael F. Bennet)

This provocative book takes us inside the fight to save capitalism from itself.

Corporations are broken, reflecting no purpose deeper than profit. But the tools we are relying on to fix them - corporate social responsibility, divestment, impact investing, and government control - risk making our problems worse.

With lively storytelling and careful analysis, O’Leary and Valdmanis cut through the tired dogma of current economic thinking to reveal a hopeful truth: If we can make our corporations accountable to a deeper purpose, we can make capitalism both prosperous and good.

What happens when the sustainability-driven CEO of Unilever takes on the efficiency-obsessed Warren Buffett? Does Kellogg’s - a company founded to serve a healthy breakfast - have a sacred duty to sell sugary cereal if that’s what maximizes profit? For decades, government has tried to curb CEO pay but failed. Why? Can Harvard students force the university to divest from oil and gas? Does it even matter if they do?

O’Leary and Valdmanis, two iconoclastic investors, take us on a fast-paced insider’s journey that will change the way we look at corporations. Likely to spark controversy among cynics and dreamers alike, this book is essential listening for anyone with a stake in reforming capitalism - which means all of us.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Charles Kitz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking yet actionable, an intellectual page-turner
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2020
    This book has changed who I want to be as a citizen, employee, manager, parent, and consumer. It's a spectacularly-written work that raises difficult questions about the type of capitalistic society we live in AND proposes real changes that humans across the economy can take to build towards a more sustainable type of capitalism and future. Capitalism is not bad, it just needs some changes; this book bridges that gap.

    Shockingly readable with its clear, short sections and real-world examples of companies that may end up on different sides of history, I leave with a better understanding of the history of our current form of capitalism and a clearer view on what I believe is important for our future.

    This is not your conventional book on capitalism that belongs in an office bookcase; this is literature for every human that lives in an economy and has a vested interest in Earth being a sustainable and pleasant place to live. It speaks to actionable changes that could be made by anybody. This will sober anybody who shops at grocery stores, works at a small business OR large corporation, owns any investment, has a right to vote in an election or a shareholder meeting, and who has been educated on capitalism.

    This book challenges my thoughts on giving, how I and the companies I see or work in consume resources, how a discounted cash flow is calculated, the metrics that I will manage towards as a business leader, what I eat and buy and where I buy it. It changes the way I think about divestment and CSR teams. It spurs me to become a more involved voter in shareholder topics and to use the small voice I have. It makes me understand the COMMON shareholder and creating value for that individual.

    In the blame game played between corporations and government on who can help solve climate change and short-term thinking, it helps me realize that business has so many more cards to play based on the dollars it can impact. As a Millennial seeking to find meaning from work and also more invested in a sustainable future than past generations on average, this is a must-read to set the world on a healthier path.

    I cannot recommend this book enough. It's important.
  • Christopher Ingalls Haugh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Truly fantastic
    Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2020
    This book is a sage account of where our system of capital has gone wrong and how we can overcome what has afflicted our business culture for too long. ACCOUNTABLE reads like Gladwell or Lewis fused with a practitioner's wisdom and a healthy dose of optimism for where we could go if we commit to a better way. This book turns one's understanding of the market, impact investment, and business writ large on its head. It retells the story of the corporation and reminds readers of what that word once meant and could mean again. Under the theory that "ownership matters," O'Leary and Valdmanis make a compelling argument for a more compassionate, long-term, and equally as growth oriented capitalism -- one that doesn't exist that far away from where we stand today. It's the kind of argument that will persuade even the crankiest or least engaged shareholder, 401(k) owner, or MBA student to pick up their phone and call their broker, congressperson, or both immediately.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2020
    This well-written book is a cogent and refreshing take on impact investing and "citizen capitalism". Published 50 years after Milton Friedman's influential essay on maximizing shareholder value, "Accountable" charts the progress the economy has made since then juxtaposed with the rising income inequality that's occurred. The authors portend further societal and environmental disparity if actions aren't taken by business leaders and consumers alike. That said, the underlying tone of the book is a hopeful one, that executives, governments, and underlying stakeholders can co-create solutions to combat these widening disparities and build a new generation of sustainable, long-term oriented businesses.
  • Michael Schwartz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and refreshing take on the state of capitalism!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020
    Engaging and refreshing take on capitalism, and how we can fix it. Great read! Fun stories, easy to understand explanations, and all grounded in serious research and finance fundamentals. These authors know what they are talking about!
  • Sam B.
    5.0 out of 5 stars I Hope every corporate shareholder reads this book
    Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2023
    A very important book that is well researched, full of case studies and research facts and enjoyable to read. Accountable provides a framework that not only makes financial sense but could also do much to promote social justice. Well done!
  • T.N.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of all the arguments around divestment, socially responsible investing, and CSR
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2020
    I wasn't totally sure what to expect of this book, since I hadn't previously read anything by the authors, but I was very intrigued by the subject. I wanted to be pushed to think past investing in "bad things" as "bad" and believing that CSR was the greatest good a big corporation could do - this book certainly did that for me. I'd recommend reading if you want to learn more about how social investing can incite change, and why CSR is not the most effective way to create good.
  • Anna W.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, thought-provoking analysis
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020
    Most of the writing on impact investing and sustainable business comes from think tankers, tree-huggers, & activists. O'Leary & Valdmanis are coming from inside the boardrooms of high finance, giving them a unique vantage point into what works and what doesn't when it comes to corporate reform. They tell it like it is, calling out businesses on their empty marketing campaigns and superficial efforts. But they also help to point us in the right direction, revealing what the future of capitalism might look like if we hold our corporations accountable.

    Anyone interested in investing, economic policy, or future of capitalism should read this book.

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