Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
Profit vs. Progress : Why Socially Responsible Investment Doesn't Work and How to Fix It - Brad Swanson
eTextbook alternate format product

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!

Go digital and save!

Profit vs. Progress

Why Socially Responsible Investment Doesn't Work and How to Fix It

By: Brad Swanson

Hardcover | 21 April 2026

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $65.00

$52.99

18%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $13.25 with

 or 

Ships in 25 to 30 business days

Why socially responsible investment promises to make investors richer and the world better-but fails at both.

Why socially responsible investment promises to make investors richer and the world better-but fails at both.

Wall Street thrives by telling investors that clever financial strategies can reverse the trade-off between corporate profits and social progress. But the link between greater corporate social responsibility and improved financial performance is an illusion.

Profit vs. Progress dissects the massive $30 trillion "socially responsible" or "sustainable" finance industry-and finds the emperor has no clothes. At best, sustainable investing typically delivers average rates of financial and social returns. But it makes social and environmental crises harder to overcome, by using financial gimmickry to distract our attention from real solutions.

Author Brad Swanson argues that corporations in competitive markets act without moral values, and ethical investment can't prod them to greater social responsibility. The only way to change the outcome of the game is to change the rules. The solutions will have to come from legislatures, not corporate boardrooms.

Swanson calls for public policies to make businesses better serve all of society, not just their shareholders-without blunting their edge. His recommendations include breaking up the cartel of large asset managers, rebuilding the influence of organized labor, curbing the rapacious behavior of the private equity industry, and eliminating the conflict of interest that pits corporate directors against the greater good of the community.

The author shows that in previous eras of social crisis caused by corporate excess, meaningful reforms emerged through the political process. Today as well, the path forward is clear-if we have the will to follow it.

More in Corporate Finance

Measure What Matters : The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth - John Doerr
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance : 8th Edition - Stephen A. Ross, Rowan Trayler, Charles Koh
Corporate Finance, Global Edition : 6th Edition - Jonathan Berk

RRP $187.41

$146.75

22%
OFF
The Premonition : A Pandemic Story - Michael Lewis

RRP $49.99

$36.99

26%
OFF
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance ISE : 14th Edition - Stephen A. Ross

RRP $169.95

$142.99

16%
OFF
Cost-Benefit Analysis 5th edition : Concepts and Practice - Anthony E. Boardman
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance : 3rd edition - Jonathan Berk

RRP $200.81

$156.75

22%
OFF
Green Gold : How Sustainability Creates Deal Value - Michel  Driessen
Corporate Governance Matters - Brian Tayan

RRP $127.00

$79.75

37%
OFF
The Dhandho Investor : The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns - Mohnish Pabrai
Valuation : Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies - David  Wessels
Multinational Business Finance, Global Edition : 16th Edition - Arthur Stonehill