The Milton Friedman-John Mackey debate on social responsibility
- Community Involvement and Development
- Consumer Issues
- The Environment
- Fair Operating Practices
- Human Rights
- Labor Practices
- Organizations and Organizational Governance
- Glossary of terms
- Organizations Involved in Various Aspects of Social Responsibility
- The Milton Friedman-John Mackey debate on social responsibility
Back in 1970, economist Milton Friedman wrote a now-famous commentary on social responsibility, with the basic argument that “the social responsibility of business is to make a profit.”
John Mackey, the founder and CEO of Whole Foods, holds otherwise, and responds to Friedman’s stand in a subsequent article that also includes comments from T.J. Rodgers, the founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, who supports Friedman’s position by maintaining that corporations which seek long-term shareholder value are more beneficial to society than corporations which focus on charitable endeavors.
This link takes you to an archived presentation of the “debate,” as maintained by Reason.com.
