Forty Years After Friedman: What is the Proper Role of Business in Society?

In 1970, Milton Friedman published an article in The New York Times Magazine entitled "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits."

Forty years later, business has grown in scale and scope, lifting billions of people out of poverty but in some cases causing harm to people and the planet. In light of the financial crisis and the BP oil spill, what is the appropriate role of business today?

[Audio only]

This event is part of the Council's second annual SEPTEMBER SUSTAINABILITY MONTH, which kicks off a year of events and resources on sustainability. Generous funding of the Carnegie Council's 2010-2011 sustainability programming has been provided by Hewlett-Packard and by Booz & Company.