A New Enlightenment for Business and Society
Two related book projects aim to redefine progress in the 21st century
Back in April we introduced a new series for the Enlightened Enterprise Academy’s Salon in this article. It’s title being, “The Better Way: Enlightened Enterprise.” And the series is to be linked to a book with that title, we announced. It is to evolve over time based on a series of interviews and live online dialogues with subject matter experts.
Since the announcement we have been lining up a series of interviews and dialogues which are due to start very soon. The names and details of those we initially hoped to interview were detailed in an article Beyond Reason: Why We Need a New Enlightenment.
Enthusiasm for the project amongst the experts that have been invited has been far greater than expected. We have also found that most of the subject matter experts have suggested other potential contributors, so the list of potential interviewees has more than doubled in number already, and more than half of the original list have confirmed their participation already.
In his conversations with those who have shown such enthusiasm the vision Paul Barnett, Founder of the Enlightened Enterprise Academy, had for the project has evolved significantly. He now envisages developing two books in parallel as we will now explain.
The two ambitious interconnected book projects, being developed in parallel, are Beyond Reason: The Case for a New Enlightenment and A Better Way: Enlightened Enterprise. Together, they represent a bold attempt to reimagine how we think, govern and conduct ourselves and our enterprise in an age of unprecedented complexity. And both are based on the following premise.
The Intellectual Crisis of Our Time
The original Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries gave us reason, science and individual liberty, the bedrock of modern progress. Yet today, many of its core assumptions appear increasingly inadequate:
The cult of hyper-rationality has led to reductionist thinking that fails to address systemic challenges
The growth imperative has created economies that undermine the ecological systems they depend on
Radical individualism has eroded the social fabric essential for collective problem-solving
"These aren't just policy failures," Paul argues. "They're symptoms of an outdated worldview. We need to evolve beyond the limitations of First Enlightenment thinking while preserving its vital achievements."
Beyond Reason: The Case for a New Enlightenment
The first book project examines why purely rational approaches consistently fail to solve today's most pressing challenges. Through interviews with leading philosophers, scientists, systems thinkers, cosmologists and others, the book explores:
The limits of reductionism in addressing complex, interconnected problems
The missing dimensions: ethical, intuitive and systemic, needed for effective decision-making
Examples where rational solutions have backfired
"Reason alone is like trying to navigate with only one instrument," says Paul. "We need to integrate multiple ways of knowing to address today's challenges."
The Better Way: Enlightened Enterprise
While Beyond Reason diagnoses the problem, A Better Way: Enlightened Enterprise focuses on the implications, both risks and opportunities. Specifically how organizations across all sectors – public, private and plural - can operate more wisely:
Private Sector Innovation
Companies like Patagonia and Interface pioneering regenerative business models
The rise of stakeholder capitalism and purpose-driven enterprise
Public Sector Reform
Governments experimenting with wellbeing metrics beyond GDP
Institutional designs that balance short-term politics with long-term thinking
The Plural Sector's Role
Drawing on Henry Mintzberg's framework, the book highlights how community organizations, cooperatives and NGOs can counterbalance state and market failures
A Unique Collaborative Model
What makes these projects particularly innovative is their development process:
Live Dialogues: Each concept in Beyond Reason will be stress-tested through public conversations with diverse subject matter experts
Advisory Network: A group of experts and guests from the public, private and plural sectors will help translate insights into practical applications for Enlightened Enterprise
Iterative Feedback: Both the subject matter experts and the enterprise focused experts will be able to engage with each other in an iterative process to improve the richness of both books.
Two Series of Interviews & Dialogues in Parallel
One series with subject matter experts for the Beyond Reason book will be mirrored by a series or experts and guests form the public, private and plural sectors for The Better Way book. A small time lag for the latter will give them time to consider the implications for enterprise of what they heard from the former.
Taking this approach, the aim is to ensure insights and ideas can rapidly influence thinking and bahaviour that brings about real change as pace and at scale. That makes the whole project far more than just another series of interesting chats that have little real world impact. We need change and we need it urgently.
Why This Matters Now
The timing for this intellectual project could hardly be more urgent. "We're hitting the limits of our current mental models. The organizations that thrive in coming decades will be those that can think differently and are capable of combining rational analysis with systemic wisdom and ethical clarity," Paul argues.
These books aim to provide nothing less than a new toolkit for navigating the 21st century's complex challenges, one that honours the Enlightenment's legacy while moving decisively beyond its limitations.