CEO Society

Peter Bloom heads the People and Organisations Department at the Open University, UK. His research critically examines the everyday practices of capitalism and democracy and their implications for work and life. Peter’s recent books include Authoritarian Capitalism in the Age of Globalization (2016) and The Ethics of Neoliberalism: The Business of Making Capitalism Moral (2017), while his writing has featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Independent, The New Statesmen, The Week, The Conversation and Open Democracy among others.Carl Rhodes is Professor of Organisation Studies at UTS Business School in Sydney, Australia. He has published numerous books and papers concerning the ethical and political dimensions of business and working life. He recently published The Companion to Ethics, Politics and Organizations (2015, with Alison Pullen), and regularly writes for the mainstream and independent press, where his articles can be found in The Guardian, New Matilda, The Conversation, Independent Australia, and Open Democracy.

• Introduction: The Threat and Promise of CEO Salvation1. Welcome to the CEO Society2. The Idolisation of the CEO3. Competing in the Executive Economy4. The CEO Politician5. The CEO as a Model for Living6. The Generous CEO?7. The Bad Faith of CEO SalvationAfterword: The High Cost of the CEO Society

Why do we pray at the altar of the celebrity CEOs? What are consequences of such disturbing worship? Bloom and Rhodes answer these questions, showing us the ugly side of our contemporary obsession and the price we collectively pay in the CEO society.