Harvard Business School Has a Morality Problem

WEEK 33: Harvard Business School Has a Morality Problem This week, we're joined by Edward Doan — Harvard Business School student and devout Catholic. And we're once again at Harvard Divinity School, just this time, we're discussing the morally questionable nature of some of HBS's recent activities.Here's what happened: HBS's startup competition — one of the most prestigious student startup hotspots in the country — ranked a sex toy company at the top of the field. They brought an OnlyFans star to campus as part of the promotion. They handed out Plan B. And Ashley Madison was hosted on campus. So we ask the obvious question: what does that say about Harvard Business School?The real problem isn't bad taste. It's the total absence of any moral vocabulary — a framework where the only question worth asking is whether the market will bear it. We walk through what Christian ethics, natural law, and the concept of vocation actually say about economic life: that wealth is a means, not an end, and that a business can be profitable and still be destructive. HBS has no category for that second clause.We also take on the pretense of neutrality. Handing out Plan B isn't a neutral act. Throwing a party for an OnlyFans creator isn't a neutral act. Choosing not to make moral judgments is itself a moral position — one with real consequences, especially when the institution making it sends 85,000 graduates into positions of serious institutional power.In the interlude, we run a rapid-fire "Holy or Unholy?" game — DraftKings, Juul, McKinsey, CoreCivic, Polymarket, OpenAI, and more. Highly recommend.We close with Girl Problems: how do you navigate big career decisions with your wife, and does it actually matter if you make less money than she does?Email [email protected] with your questions/comments or submit a voice memo at https://www.speakpipe.com/approachthebench for a chance to be featured on the show! You can also submit anonymous comments through this Google Form: https://forms.gle/9Zjxzkpwajivx19z800:00 Introduction01:57 Harvard Business School vs. Morality29:35 Holy or Unholy Businesses32:08 Girl Problems