Personal and social responsibility

February 22, 2023

One concept -- among many -- that eluded me during my academic career was the term 'social responsibility' and, even more problematic, 'corporate social responsibility,' or CSR. I long ago embraced Milton Friedman's idea that a company's responsibility was to it's shareholders and to make a profit, as that is why shareholders invested in the company and that is the return they deserve for their investment. To be sustainable -- not in today's environmental vernacular but rather in the true meaning of the word, i.e., to sustain existence over a long period of time -- a firm had to serve customers and respect the environment.

More troubling was how 'social responsibility' allowed people to escape a real sense of personal responsibility. Rather than believe that a person's success was a personal responsibility, the culture shifted towards positive rights, meaning that society -- or someone other than yourself -- was responsible for taking care of you and in meeting your assumed rights, to food, housing, education, healthcare, etc. The idea of negative rights -- those rights that the government promises to protect for you, not pay for you -- took precedent. Personal responsibility 'went out the door,' and moved further from one's life with each additional positive right asserted by 'social justice warriors,' those who believed in equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities or even equal treatment.

Long ago I learned a simple adage, "When everyone is responsible, no one is responsible." Instead, they twisted Harry Truman's desktop sign, "The buck stops here," which led people to pass the buck on to someone 'higher up' in the hierarchy. Rather than taking personal responsibility for your health, career, education, or income, it became someone else's job to give it to you. At times it was assigned to the government, but they became one of the largest buck passers, passing the buck to taxpayers. The 'government' pays for nothing; taxpayers pay.