Friedman fallacies
Journal of Business Ethics · 1991 · Volume 10 · Issue 12
Abstract
Milton Friedman's article, ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is To Increase Its Profits,’ owes its appeal to the rhetorical devices of simplicity, authority, and finality. More careful consideration reveals oversimplification and ambiguity that conceals empirical errors and logical fallacies. It is false that business does, or would, operate exclusively in economic terms, that managers concentrate obsessively on profitability, and that ethics can be marginalized. These errors reflect basic contradictions: an apolitical political base, altruistic agents of selfishness, and good deriving from greed.
Keywords
Economic Growth, Social Responsibility, Careful Consideration, Milton, Economic Term
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