Reconsidering the Social Responsibility of Businesses

In a speech in July, Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden said: “It’s way past time we put an end to the era of shareholder capitalism. The idea the only responsibility a corporation has is with shareholders, that’s simply not true. It’s an absolute farce.” The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives representing many leading U.S. companies, retreated from “shareholder capitalism” a little over a year ago, with a statement signed by 181 CEOs “who commit to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers, com.....