Simon London: Responsibility in a market economy (FT)

Corporate social responsibility is one of those topics – like Manchester United and the New York Yankees – that raises passions both for and against. To CSR’s proponents, encouraging companies to do more than the law demands to create a better workplace and society is a powerful force for good. To its opponents, this is dangerous thinking because it distracts companies from their true role in a market economy – maximising profits while staying within the law.