Is it time to abolish the MBA? | The Indicator

The episode centers on a New York Times op-ed by business professor Chris Marquis arguing that business schools should be abolished, or at least fundamentally redesigned. Marquis says the modern MBA has become a machine for promoting dealmaking, simplification, and optimization, while steering students away from the public good and toward consulting, finance, and tech. He argues that schools sell world-changing ideals but then flatten students’ ambitions through a curriculum focused on shareholder capitalism, recruiting pressure, and case studies that overrepresent winners.

Marquis also criticizes case-study teaching as structurally biased because many cases are shaped by the companies involved and can turn into polished corporate narratives. He points to Enron as an example of how business schools can be misled by success stories that later collapse under scandal. In his view, ethics courses added after scandals are only a band-aid, not a fix for the deeper problem.

Wharton dean Erica James pushes back, calling the abolition idea an oversimplification. She says business schools teach useful skills for managing resources, selling, and operating organizations, and she notes that schools are already expanding into sustainability, policy, and social impact. Still, she concedes schools have helped funnel students into lucrative industries and says the best model is to combine a liberal arts mindset with business acumen.