Better Business Makes the Greater Good
Each year, thousands of future company directors begin the next stage of their professional journey – obtaining their MBA. During that first semester of study, they learn about the Friedman doctrine, named after American economist and statistician Milton Friedman. Over 50 years ago, Friedman’s book Capitalism and Freedom presented a concept that not only formed the foundation of business education for the past half-century, but has also defined business practice and influenced government policies on a global level.
This concept states that the sole social responsibility of business is to increase its profits, within the scope of the law. And this is what those future corporate directors are taught – that every decision they make should help generate profits for shareholders. This sentiment is so deeply ingrained that it’s viewed as a natural law – something as innate and unchangeable as gravity.
Following Friedman’s doctrine has undeniably resulted in many benefits. Some corporate shareholders have made huge amounts of money and stimulated the economy. And in the course of doing so, their businesses have provided communities with employment – as well as housing, food, entertainment, and services that make life easier or support our well-being.
But at the same time, following this doctrine has caused immense damage. It has – and continues to – decimate natural resources and harm the planet while increasing inequality and deprivation. Business reporting rarely accounts for this damage. In keeping with Friedman’s doctrine, what matters are financial and material assets – the assets that make money.
Although corporations believe they’re only answerable to shareholders, their decisions affect the well-being of whole communities and ecosystems. That means they should be accountable to those communities and the environment. But to achieve this, the business world will need to replace its old paradigm with a new mindset – one that repositions corporations and their role in society.
Imagine what the world would look like if, as part of their everyday activities, businesses focused on doing good as well as making profits for shareholders. That might sound wildly idealistic, but the reality is that humans invented and adopted Friedman’s doctrine. So why can’t we create a new model that harnesses the good while mitigating the bad?
Businesses have the potential to make significant positive change in the world. They just need to redefine what “success” actually looks like. But before we explore ways to achieve that, let’s look at how we got here in the first place.
Prosperity (2018) examines how business thinking has led to our current state of social, political, and environmental disaster. Drawing on historical, legal, and economic knowledge, it presents a radical new framework in which both corporations and the broader community can flourish together.
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Blink 3 von 12 - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
von Yuval Noah Harari
