Milton Friedman
Friedman’s Legacy: From Doctrine to Theorem
Friedman was more right than his detractors claim and more wrong than his supporters would like us to believe. However, after 50 years of...
The Purpose of Business is to Solve Problems of Society, Not to Cause Them
Claims that a stakeholder-focused system of corporate governance cannot succeed in the US are perverse because they take as given that corporations in the...
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...
