Who's afraid of big bad CSR?
Filed in archive CSR on December 3, 2006
Two articles from the past weeks caught my eye here since they're basically the same article, although one calls CSR bunk and the other that CSR is immoral. While there's room to criticize CSR over the ability of it to work, or whether it is in fact a solution or not, but immoral? That's a new one. I can just see it leering lustily near the school it is helping to build.
First, from the Wall Street Journal:
The illusion of great and threatening power, the superficial attractiveness of the notion, and the frequent repetition of the mantra of corporate social responsibility have made this fallacy a part of the modern corporate zeitgeist. Like the citizens who were afraid to tell the Emperor that he was naked, no responsible business official would dare contradict the notion publicly for fear of financial ruin, even though the practice continues to cost shareholders and society enormous amounts. This is especially so in large-scale retail businesses like Wal-Mart or Coca-Cola or BP that are highly vulnerable to organized public criticism. Our laws against extortion do not function effectively when it comes to corporations. And so to some extent these private entities have indeed, via the social responsibility notion, been converted into crypto-public enterprises that are the essence of socialism. Milton Friedman was right again.
The second, from TownHall:
The programs CSR proponents advocate weakens the fundamentals of our economy, political institutions, and reduces our ability to effectively address social problems. Because CSR does not solve problems, but it does reduce our strength and vitality, Milton Friedman's quote is as relevant today as it was in the 1970's. Social welfare is enhanced the most when everyone plays their proper roles in society and no one is so arrogant as to believe they can solve all of society's ills. To do otherwise is, immoral.
In other bunk and immoral CSR news ...
*At Rediff: Can corporations save the world?
*At CSRWire: Giving is good business ...
*Forbes.com on the Best Corporate Citizens.
*The Motley Fool highlights Harvard Business Review articles on CSR.
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