Key Points
There is one and only one social responsibility of businessto use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits, so long as it stays within the rules of the game.".
His critics, and there are many, call his argument economically and morally wrong, insisting that companies have obligations beyond profits..
Friedmans argument is that there is perfect overlap between whats good for profits and whats good for society, and so just by focusing on profits, youll automatically have positive social impact..
Indeed, that is another reason why Friedman argued that companies should maximize profitsdoing so increases shareholders ability to support their preferred causes..
The social responsibility of business is to increase its long-term profits, as well as to address externalitiesbut only where the government has failed, that it has a comparative advantage in solving, and that its shareholders are willing to sacrifice returns for. ..
