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Elkington, John. Cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of 21st century business
Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada: New Society Publishers, 1998. 416p index ISBN 0-86571-392-8 paper $21.95
The striking title refers to a parable, which questions whether it is an advance if a cannibal uses a fork while eating his victims? The analogy is to capitalists and whether it is possible to get them to think about the environment and social justice. Mr. Elkington refers to this attempted advance as the "Triple Bottom Line." The book focuses on convincing the reader that businesses can better prosper by including environmental and social justice concerns in their corporate policy.
While reading this book I was persuaded. Afterwards the reality of modern day capitalism sank in. Capitalism is a brutal cutthroat business, and any capitalist focusing more attention on social justice and environmental concerns than profits is likely to become bankrupt quickly. The author knows this too, but he says that since people want social justice and environmentalism, businesses must pay...