Freidman - The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits

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1、TheSocialResponsibilityofBusinessistoIncreaseitsProfitsbyMiltonFriedmanTheNewYorkTimesMagazine,September13,1970.Copyright@1970byTheNewYorkTimesCompany.WhenIhearbusinessmenspeakeloquentlyaboutthe"socialresponsibilitiesofbusinessinafree-enterprisesystem,"Iamremin

2、dedofthewonderfullineabouttheFrenchmanwhodiscoveredattheageof70thathehadbeenspeakingproseallhislife.Thebusinessmenbelievethattheyaredefendingfreeenterprisewhentheydeclaimthatbusinessisnotconcerned"merely"withprofitbutalsowithpromotingdesirable"social"ends;thatb

3、usinesshasa"socialconscience"andtakesseriouslyitsresponsibilitiesforprovidingemployment,eliminatingdiscrimination,avoidingpollutionandwhateverelsemaybethecatchwordsofthecontemporarycropofre-formers.Infacttheyare–orwouldbeiftheyoranyoneelsetookthemseriously–prea

4、chingpureandunadulteratedsocialism.Businessmenwhotalkthiswayareunwittingpuppetsoftheintellectualforcesthathavebeenunderminingthebasisofafreesocietythesepastdecades.Thediscussionsofthe"socialresponsibilitiesofbusiness"arenotablefortheiranalyticalloosenessandlack

5、ofrigor.Whatdoesitmeantosaythat"business"hasresponsibilities?Onlypeoplecanhaveresponsibilities.Acorporationisanartificialpersonandinthissensemayhaveartificialresponsibilities,but"business"asawholecannotbesaidtohaveresponsibilities,eveninthisvaguesense.Thefirsts

6、teptowardclarityinexaminingthedoctrineofthesocialresponsibilityofbusinessistoaskpreciselywhatitimpliesforwhom.Presumably,theindividualswhoaretoberesponsiblearebusinessmen,whichmeansindividualproprietorsorcorporateexecutives.Mostofthediscussionofsocialresponsibi

7、lityisdirectedatcorporations,soinwhatfollowsIshallmostlyneglecttheindividualproprietorsandspeakofcorporateexecutives.Inafree-enterprise,private-propertysystem,acorporateexecutiveisanemployeeoftheownersofthebusiness.Hehasdirectresponsibilitytohisemployers.Thatre

8、sponsibilityistoconductthebusinessinaccordancewiththeirdesires,whichgenerallywillbetomakeasmuchmoneyaspossiblewhileconformingtothebasicrulesofthesociety,boththoseembodiedinl