Corporate Social Responsibility
In 1970 Milton Friedman published an article in the New York Times which was met by strong waves of criticism on both ends of the corporate and political spectrum concerning the social responsibilities of organizations today. In his argument he stated that “the Social Responsibility of Business [Was] to Increase Profits”. He believed that if businesses carried out their roles by valid and legitimate methods with respect to the law, that this would justify the organizations role in only maximizing profits, while negating its efforts on social and communal interests. In this article we discuss the relevance of his statements by applying them to modern interpretations of political democracies to test the theory that such a business model only functions in a truly democratic state. We question if such a purely capitalistic approach is better than an all-embracing one in which the organization cares for the community and vice versa. We also discuss the need for regulation in business and its limitations.
Terra Velha 