What makes a 'good' business school amid culture wars, inequality, and rising right-wing populism? This book argues that business schools cannot hide behind technocratic or scholarly neutrality. As social impact and stakeholder capitalism moved from boardrooms into lecture theatres, they became lightning rods in political battles over expertise, identity, and power.

From politicising 'wokeness' to state intrusion into academic freedom, the struggle is no longer rigour versus relevance but what kind of institution business schools choose to be. This book calls for a democratically engaged business school grounded in public value, committed to intellectual pluralism, and oriented toward shared prosperity.

Carl Rhodes is Professor of Business and Society and former Dean at the University of Technology Sydney Business School, Australia.

Alison Pullen is Professor of Feminist Organization Studies at Macquarie Business School, Australia and Australia and Editor of Feminism and Organization (Bristol University Press).