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corporate responsibility

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Milton Friedman in front of a graph.

The Myth of the Friedman Doctrine

Friedman's viewpoint went far deeper and has been more lasting than the politics of 1970.
by Kyle Edward Williams via The Hedgehog Review on November 1, 2023
Milton Friedman.

Milton Friedman Was Wrong

The famed economist’s “shareholder theory” provides corporations with too much room to violate consumers’ rights and trust.
by Eric Posner via The Atlantic on August 22, 2019
Bookcover of Golden States, of people in bathing suits doing yoga.

How Dr. Bronner’s Spiritual Messaging Became a Global Brand

Dr. Bronner blends spirituality, ethical consumerism, and social activism, aiming to support both community and environmental causes through “All-One” values.
by Eileen Luhr via University Of California Press Blog on October 23, 2024
Nutrition Facts labels
partner

What ‘Nutrition Facts’ Labels Leave Out

The history of the Nutrition Facts label exposes the power — and limitations — of such transparency.
by Xaq Frohlich via Made By History on April 11, 2024
Photo of a blue bin filled with recyclable garbage.

Petrochemical Companies Have Known for 40 Years that Plastics Recycling Wouldn't Work

Despite knowing that plastic recycling wouldn't work, new documents show how petrochemical companies promoted it anyway.
by Joseph Winters via Grist on February 20, 2024
A hand reaches for stacks of coins and bills, superimposed on photos of factory smokestacks.

Profit, Power, and Purpose

The greatest challenge presented by modern corporations, small as well as large, involves purpose.
by Michael Lind via The Hedgehog Review on November 1, 2023
Coke bottle littering a beach.

How Coke Killed the Refillable Bottle

Coke knew their plastic would trash the planet…and did it anyway.
via The Story Of Stuff Project on October 4, 2023
A businessman superimposed over the Wall Street skyline.

How Not to Tell Stories About Corporate Capitalism

Turning the history of capitalism into a morality tale about good guys and bad guys is tempting.
by Kyle Edward Williams via The Hedgehog Review on June 30, 2023
Anti-Apartheid Rally, June 14, 1986, New York City.

Coke Money and Apartheid Divestment in U.S. Higher Education

US corporations, with universities as one of their stages, masqueraded as agents of Black solidarity while undermining the demands of African liberation movements.
by Amanda Joyce Hall via Black Perspectives on May 10, 2023
CEO Eli Black (middle) talking with farmers at a lettuce farm.

The Banana King Who (Tried to) Put People Over Profits

1970s United Fruit CEO Eli Black got caught between the warring ideals of ‘social responsibility’ and shareholder gains.
by Matt Garcia via Zócalo Public Square on April 26, 2023
Men in suits with briefcases walking.

The Myth of the Socially Conscious Corporation

The argument that corporations have historically been a force for good—and can be again—is wishful thinking.
by Meagan Day via The New Republic on January 27, 2023

Just Beans

What was ethical consumption under capitalism?
by Malcolm Harris via The Drift on October 20, 2022
Oil refinery

How Polluting Industries Mobilized to Block Climate Action

Since its inception, the IPCC itself has been the target of corporate obstructionism.
by Amy Westervelt via The Intercept on April 12, 2022
Iron fence featuring mickey mouse shaped ornaments.
partner

Movie Studios Are Abandoning Russia, A Far Cry From How They Handled Nazi Germany

During World War II, movie studios went to pains not to alienate the Nazis.
by David Welky, Noel Murray via Made By History on March 8, 2022
Chlorodyne bottles and other medicines on display with a wooden background

Potions, Pills, and Patents: How Basic Healthcare Became Big Business in America

Basic healthcare in the 20th Century greatly impacted the way that the drug business currently operates in the United States.
by Alexander Zaitchik via Literary Hub on March 4, 2022
Woman recycling glass, Wallingford neighborhood, Seattle, Washington, 1990

You'll Never Believe Who Invented Curbside Recycling

Far from ushering in a zero-waste world, the switch from returnables to recycling provided cover for the creation of ever more packaging trash.
by Bart Elmore, Livia Gershon via JSTOR Daily on August 6, 2021
Defendant Alfred Krupp von Bohlen testifies at the Krupp Case war crimes trial.

The Other Nuremberg Trials, Seventy-Five Years On

Failures in prosecuting German businesses who profited in Nazi Germany show how far Europe and America were willing to go to protect capitalism.
by Erica X. Eisen via Boston Review on March 22, 2021
Comic with Donald Trump at the head of a White House conference room.

The End of the Businessman President

Donald Trump’s catastrophic tenure will be the nail in the coffin of the worst idea in politics: that the government can be run like a corporation.
by Kyle Edward Williams via The New Republic on December 9, 2020
Mike Pence in a warehouse.
partner

CEOs Email You Heartfelt Coronavirus Messages, While Still Prioritizing the Bottom Line

Over 100 years, a tactic first designed to keep workers happy morphed into a marketing strategy.
by Andrew Lynn via Made By History on April 9, 2020

The Long Roots of Corporate Irresponsibility

Nicholas Lemann’s history of 20th century corporations, Transaction Man, shows how an unrelenting faith in the market and profit doomed the American economy.
by Rick Perlstein via The Nation on March 17, 2020

The Credo Company

A shocking story about the biggest company in the US's most profitable industry.
by Steven Brill via Highline on August 1, 2019

The Square Deal

Some people called it "Welfare Capitalism." George F. Johnson called it "The Square Deal."
by Nellie Gilles, Sarah Kate Kramer, Joe Richman via Radio Diaries on June 20, 2019

Wayward Leviathans

How America's corporations lost their public purpose.
by David Ciepley via The Hedgehog Review on March 1, 2019
African American sharecropping children in a field with bags of cotton.
partner

The Perils of Big Data: How Crunching Numbers Can Lead to Moral Blunders

As history shows, efficiency without ethics can be catastrophic.
by Caitlin C. Rosenthal via Made By History on February 18, 2019
Panel of speakers promoting divestment from apartheid South Africa.

On the Limits of Boycotts as a Political Tool

As businesses are pressured to abandon the NRA, one scholar looks at the efficacy of boycotts past.
by Jessica Ann Levy via Black Perspectives on March 14, 2018

‘Some Observations on the NFL and Negro Players’

Newly discovered league memo from 1966 anticipates controversies over the Colin Kaepernick protest.
by Paul Lukas via Andscape on February 1, 2018
Man giving a speech for the Taxpayers League of Minnesota.

Half a Century of Anti-tax Orthodoxy Is Wrong

Taxation is at the heart of any serious economic growth policy.
by Felicia Wong via Boston Review on December 15, 2017

It's Against The Law for Employers To Make You Sick. Thank The 'Radium Girls' For That

100 years ago, factory workers fought to hold companies accountable for their radium poisoning.
by David Brancaccio, Katie Long via Marketplace on November 28, 2017
Bottle of OxyContin.

The Family That Built an Empire of Pain

The Sackler dynasty’s ruthless marketing of painkillers has generated billions of dollars—and millions of addicts.
by Patrick Radden Keefe via The New Yorker on October 30, 2017

One Person's History of Twitter, From Beginning to End

Twitter, valuing expansion over principles, achieved its goal of changing the world. But not in the way that it planned.
by Mike Monteiro via Medium on October 15, 2017
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