awareness to emerge in regard to the exploitative nature of capitalism. The content of Karl Marx’s works are now widely known, at least in a simplified format. The capitalist must thus work to meet society’s expectations and disprove notions of power-hungry, limitless, exploitative capitalism. The answer, in large part, has come to be known as Corporate Social Responsibility. Under the premise that CSR truly does not break away from ingrained capitalist structures and is merely another tool that aides in the valorization of capital, it would be remiss to claim that this is obvious to those working within the realm of CSR. The capitalists employing CSR within their industries, and, all the more so, the workers whose sole function rests in the enactment of socially responsible policies and practices within, or on behalf of, their company or industry, must largely believe in the surface- level mission of corporate social responsibility. Thus, even if CSR only furthers capital’s exploits in the long run, CSR nevertheless allows both workers and capitalists to maintain a semblance of morality. Marx did not give credence to the possibility of capitalists pursuing moral goals at the cost of the capital valorization process. Where Friedman views profit maximization as the only moral route, an imperative, for the capitalist, Marx sees it as an inevitability. “Friedman advocates…the belief that an unregulated market is the economic ideal, the optimal socioeconomic engine, whereas Marx believes that the market mechanism should be supplanted by non-market forms of 79
social organization” (Shaw 569). Nevertheless, we now see a divergence from the prediction of Marx and prescriptions of Friedman. Shaw observes that society is now eager to explore “the middle ground between market fundamentalism and socialism and, more specifically, to accepting the feasibility and desirability of promoting among corporations an expanded sense of social responsibility (Shaw 569).”
V. Freedom This analysis of CSR must inevitably lead to a conclusion dedicated to the exploration of freedom. As previously mentioned, Milton Friedman conceptualizes freedom as the ultimate goal for society. For Friedman, freedom means freedom for the individual —free from government restriction or regulation. Marx, on the other hand, sees freedom only where Capital is restricted from exploiting the time and lives of laborers. As such, neither advocate for CSR: Friedman views it as antithetical to the goals of both capitalists and society at large; Marx would claim that only government regulation inspired by worker uprising can bring about necessary change. Friedman writes: The existence of monopoly raises the issue of the ‘social responsibility,’ as it has come to be called, of the monopolist…The monopolist is visible and has power. It is easy to argue that he should discharge his power not solely to further his own interests but to further socially desirable ends. Yet the widespread application of such a doctrine would destroy a free society (Friedman 1962, 120).
Freidman sees free society as one in which the free market regulates interaction, such that no individual can coerce another. His premise for this rests in that all are free to cooperate or disengage from other actors in society. For Freedman, there exist “no ‘social’ responsibilities in any sense other than the shared values and responsibilities of individuals. Society is a collection of individuals and of the various groups they voluntarily form” (Friedman 1970). Marx shows, however that neither the capitalist nor the laborer is truly free to choose—both are driven by the capitalist system to either exploit the labor of others or sell one’s own freedom, respectively.
VI. Conclusion We arrive therefore at a somber, though not unexpected conclusion. Corporate Social Responsibility is not a means by which society will attain freedom or overcome exploitation within the system of capitalist production. Corporate Social Responsibility is not an affront to capitalism or a divergence from the profit motive. Nonetheless, CSR does diverge from Karl Marx’s prescription for Capital, as it is leveraged by capitalists to sustain long-term interests by foregoing short-term gains. In addition, through the employment in workers who believe in socially responsible corporate action, corporations can be driven to act in ways that do not serve the profit motive; this has potential to hold true even if the capitalist initially engages in CSR practices to further valorize capital. Although CSR and those working in its name do have the capacity to