Doing Good: How Ethical Capitalism Can Save Liberal Democracy Author: Markus GabrielISBN-13: 978-1509572113Publisher: PolityGuideline Price: £20The streets are rarely filled with protesters demanding gradual change. Moderate reformers seldom incite a crowd into a frenzy. Revolution, rather than evolution, quickens hearts and shortens tempers.This is particularly true in debates on the future of capitalism. Calls to overthrow market economies, not to reform them, cause big moments of philosophy and dramatic days in politics.It is doubtful that The Communist Manifesto would have transformed political thought if it had advocated for sensible and steady reform.The Russian Revolution would not have changed the 20th century if the revolutionaries had argued for tinkering with economic policies.Likewise, if Occupy Wall Street was replaced by Let Us Proportionately Regulate Wall Street, would the crowds still have gathered?Copies of Doing Good are therefore unlikely to be waved in the air by throngs of passionate readers. It does not advocate the overthrow of capitalism, but for its reform.The proposals are radical, but not a complete dismantling of market economies. Indeed, it contends that changes in how capitalism works can be the saviour of liberal democracy. This book is frequently inaccessible and wildly impractical, but it is also stimulating and provocative. It is the kind of work that should inspire other books to be written. Bold proposals are offered to reshape the nature of capitalism. An important strength of this book is a provocative and original agenda. Equally, a critical weakness is the implausibility of too many proposals.The opening pages are a familiar account of the disruption and changes that are confronting societies. The author, Markus Gabriel, is emphatic that further upheaval is not the answer to these challenges.There is an ambition in this work that deserves respect and admiration. It is a fizzy mixture of not wanting to tear the system down while arguing for the same system to be completely overhauledHe contends that “Calls for systems change often underestimate the unintended consequences such upheaval would bring.” The attentive reader can hear revolutionaries groan in disappointment.The disapproval will grow as the author argues for an ethical development of capitalism. He writes that “most economic activity is, at its core, about solving problems, meeting needs, and offering value”. This recasting of capitalist policies will ensure “profit and progress are not at odds – they are aligned”.This concept is not as radical as this book suggests. Robert Owen, a Scottish mill owner in the 19th century, built a new form of industrial community where living and working standards were transformed.More recent incarnations of a different approach to capitalism include corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG). They make little appearance in or impact on this book.Instead, a great strength of this work is making a positive case for the value of freedom and autonomy. At the heart of Gabriel’s argument is the recognition that “we are who we are because we believe ourselves to be a certain way”.This belief is a cornerstone of modernity that unleashed the growth of capitalism. The agility and flexibility at the heart of capitalist economies confer an advantage not bettered by any alternative method.Gabriel argues for a New Enlightenment, where wisdom is reprioritised in our economic and commercial affairs. Unfortunately, this is where the ambition becomes untethered from a sense of practicality.A proposal for all companies to establish a chief philosophy officer is a serious example of this. This book does not make a clear argument as to what model of ethics would guide the work of this officer.The same concern applies to the proposal to establish a department of ethics in large companies. The reconciliation of this department with the expectations of shareholders and owners is also hardly considered. This may feel like a prosaic consideration when poetic arguments are advanced, but these issues matter.Similarly, the work argues for allowing children to vote. The author writes that “children’s imagination will change the future”. That could be the case, but none of the practical issues that this proposal raises are considered.Doing Good assumes that economic and moral progress can be fused together. The concept of moral progress for an entire society requires careful argument. It is all too easily assumed.Yet, despite these shortcomings, there is an ambition in this work that deserves respect and admiration. It is a fizzy mixture of not wanting to tear the system down while arguing for the same system to be completely overhauled.The reader may not be convinced by some of the arguments and will be befuddled by some of the writing. But the same reader will emerge from this book a little wiser.Paschal Donohoe is a managing director of the World Bank Group.