# Coronavirus Is Making Business Leaders Rethink the Rules of Capitalism

1 Opinion March 23, 2020 Stern in the News ![Tensie Whelan](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/Whelan%20Article.jpg?itok=XEKEqv-d) By Tensie Whelan and Sophie Rifkin >

Fifty years after economist Milton Friedman sternly admonished society that the sole business of business is profit, business is rethinking that adage with support from business schools.

Business schools have long embraced the belief that shareholders are the “owners” of the company and profits should be maximized to benefit them, and have taught accordingly.

So it is only fair that business schools, which play the dual role of educating the next generation of business leaders while also undertaking research that informs current corporate decision-making, help design the next chapter of capitalism.

Read the full [*Worth* article](https://www.worth.com/coronavirus-is-making-business-leaders-rethink-the-rules-of-capitalism/).
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*Tensie Whelan is a Clinical Professor of Business and Society and Director of the Center for Sustainable Business.* ## More from Tensie Whelan

- [Demystifying the ‘Say-Do’ Gap in Sustainable Product Purchases.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/demystifying-say-do-gap-sustainable-product-purchases)
- [How LPs Can Better Assess Sustainability-Linked Value Creation.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/how-lps-can-better-assess-sustainability-linked-value-creation)
- [Lessons From a Decade of Teaching Sustainability at B-School.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/lessons-decade-teaching-sustainability-b-school)
- [ESG Reporting Needs a Refresh. Here’s How to Fix It.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/esg-reporting-needs-refresh-heres-how-fix-it)
- [The B2B Opportunity in Corporate Sustainability.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/b2b-opportunity-corporate-sustainability)