social responsibility

          In the first reading on Milton Friedman within the text Business Ethics, the idea of “social responsibility” is introduced.  Social responsibility within the corporate world is defined as a Corporations responsibility to take responsibility for the company's effects on the environment and impact on the social world. This idea of social responsibility usually involves the company’s efforts to go beyond what is usually required by environmental protection groups.  The main question or argument in this particular reading is whether or not corporations in our world today need to have a social responsibility to go over and beyond the standards that are required of them.  This question has been brought up for years and the argument goes back and forth depending on whom you are talking to.  In this particular reading from Milton Friedman there is a clear insight into what his beliefs are and those are that he believes a corporation’s responsibility is to simply make profit.  Milton Friedman also argues that corporations are not persons in nature, therefore they cannot have a social responsibility to do anything but make as much profit as they possibly can. 

            Milton Friedman is one of the largest opponents to people believing that corporation’s should be forced to have a social responsibility.  One of the first arguments that that Friedman makes within the reading from Business Ethics is that corporations are not physical persons and only persons can have a social responsibility.  He says that corporations are like a building.  You cannot ask a building to act moral.  This is a very good argument however, many will argue that the corporation is made up of persons who run the company and those people should have a social responsibility.  In other words, because the corporation is an artificial person does not mean that they cannot act with social responsibility.  Milton Friedman has another argument that these corporations are not allowed to spend their money in order to have a social responsibility over and beyond what is required.  The reason that they do not have this money is because the money that they have is given to them by the shareholders of the company and what those shareholders give them their money for is so the corporation can make them profit.  So naturally, Friedman says the corporation’s first priority is to make profit.  However, corporations play such a large role in our world today that we almost have to have them acting with this social responsibility because if we do not, things in our society and environment are going to continually get worse.  Milton Friedman’s overall theory that there is one responsibility of corporations and that is to make as much profit as possible as long as the company stays within the laws and regulations of the government.