Answer to Question #226499 in English for Hajoh

Question

What is Milton Friedman’s position on the social responsibility of a business? Discuss two (2)
assumptions and 4 problems with this position.

Answer 1

In a 1970 column for The New York Times headlined "A Friedman Doctrine: The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits," Friedman developed the thesis. In it, he contended that a company's only social obligation is to its shareholders, and that it has no social responsibility to the public or society.

Friedman advocated for a pure form of capitalism and opposed any action that stifles economic liberty. According to Friedman, a corporation's socially responsible actions impair economic freedom because shareholders have no control over how their money is spent. As a result, Friedman argues that businesses should concentrate on activities that are causally related to profits, thus rejecting altruistic activities that do not create income.