In Firms of Endearment we talk about “capitalist fundamentalists.” These are people who cannot get beyond the Milton Friedman famously espoused idea that the only social responsibility of a company “is to lawfully make profits for its owners.”
As we wrote the book, my co-author Raj Sisodia and I continuously reminded ourselves that to the degree the book was successful, it would attract the attention of capitalist fundamentalists bent on telling the world about how unpardonably flawed the book is.
Lo and behold, the first review at Amazon did just that, charging us with intellectual sloppiness. The reviewer’s position stimulated a number of responses challenging his position.
Today, I ran across another article that was inspired by the rants of another capitalist fundamentalist. Here it is in part, from CRO (for corporate responsibility officer) magazine:
Corporate responsibility and profitability can co-exist.
By Jay Whitehead
I was caught completely flabbergasted by American Prospect Editor Robert Kuttner’s editorial “Beware of Corporate Do-Gooding” this past Sunday in The Boston Globe. In a sophomoric search for attention, Kuttner wrote that any and all responsible behaviors by corporations should be waived off as cynical diversionary tactics of profit-hungry devils. “Whenever hugely profitable corporations mount a charm offensive, keep your hand on your wallet,” Kuttner wrote.
DBW
Comments