Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman and the Need for Justice
Milton Friedman predicated his shareholder value maximization credo on the strong implicit and explicit assumptions that the rules of society protect stakeholders other than...
There Is a Direct Line from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump’s Assault on Democracy
Milton Friedman believed that corporations have a social responsibility to play within the rules of the game. But corporations aren’t just players of the...
Strength in Numbers: Using Data to Track Diversity and Inclusion
Recent protests against racism and police brutality, along with the #MeToo movement, have increased pressure on businesses to measure and improve their recruitment and...
Shareholder Value and Social Responsibility Are Not At Odds
Being socially responsible can, and frequently does, make good business sense. There are plenty of opportunities for companies to do well by doing good.
Editor’s...
Corporations Are Governance Mechanisms, Not Shareholder Toys
Milton Friedman’s shareholder credo is simple and catchy but has shaky foundations. Corporate directors and officers are not agents of shareholders and have no...
Beyond Friedman’s Doctrine: The True Purpose of the Business Corporation
The pandemic and the renewed focus on inequality and injustice arising in the wake of the death of George Floyd have accelerated the conversation...
Market Forces Already Address ESG Issues and the Issues Raised by Stakeholder Capitalism
When do market forces push firms toward stakeholder goals, rather than just shareholder goals? When do market forces push firms toward ESG goals? When...
Corporations Are Already Plenty Powerful. Stakeholder Capitalism Could Make Them More So
Encouraging corporations to further step into the role of governments and civil society groups by becoming more "socially focused" risks greater depreciation of our...
The Enduring Wisdom of Milton Friedman
Shareholder value maximization has been extremely successful globally in the way that matters most because, in many cases, maximizing shareholder value is in harmony...
Shareholders Don’t Always Want to Maximize Shareholder Value
Oliver Hart, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for economics, reflects on how the world has changed since Milton Friedman published his famous essay on the...
