Beyond Self-Interest

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CEOs vow that they don't do it for money. Investors claim to be more interested in passionate founders than in balance sheets. And consumers seek goods made with care, that allow them to feel a 'connection' to the people who made them - even if that means paying premium. Doesn't this all sound like market heresy? Why is passion making money, rather than self-interest? Beyond Self-Interest argues that those who pursue passion over profit are embraced by the market they claim to be shunning. Drawing on the work of Enlightenment thinkers all the way to the work of twenty-first century writers like Jenny Odell and Cal Newport, Krzysztof Pelc shows how passion over profit lies at the very heart of capitalism. As he argues, markets have always put their greatest trust in those who do not subscribe to market values. This was the case with 17th-century Puritans, who pursued a divinely ordained calling and yet still prospered, and 19th-century Utopian communes and their 1960s hippie successors, who turned themselves into flourishing commercial enterprises despite their anti-capitalist mindset. Today, the world's fastest-growing firms are applying these lessons, styling themselves after passionate Utopians. They are 'changing the world', 'building global communities', 'doing what they love' - anything, in fact, but seeking profit. And in doing so, they are making a killing. Combining lively anecdote with a real boldness and originality of thought, Beyond Self-Interest is a book to redefine how we conceive of capitalism.