The success of business and the success of the United States depend on each other, says former U.S. treasury secretary Larry Summers, and they both rely on “global openness, absence of prejudice, and fact-based decision making.” Summers, who also served as director of the National Economic Council under President Obama, has criticized some of President Trump’s protectionist policy positions and early executive orders, saying they will undermine the country’s economy and long-term interests. When I spoke with him recently, he urged business leaders to stand up for their principles: “If CEOs who employ hundreds of thousands of people are not in a position to speak truth to power, who is going to be in a position to speak truth to power?” What follows is an edited version of our conversation.