Tutorial Questions: Capitalism Article in Question: The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits (1970)- Milton Friedman

1. In the article, The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, what is Milton Friedmans main thesis? You can use your own words or a quote from the article itself to answer. 2. According to Friedman, why is the exercise of social responsibility by corporative executives undemocratic? 3. Explain what the cloak of social responsibility is and how it is detrimental to society. 4. Why does Friedman believe that the corporate sponsorship of social responsibility is suicidal? 5. How does Friedmans ideas presented in this article relate to the core tenets of classical liberalism? 6. The only duty of the corporate executive is to maximize profit for the benefit of their company and its shareholders. Do you agree with this conjecture? Explain why or why not. 7. How much responsibility does a corporation have in aiding the communal good of society? What qualifies as too much responsibility, and what qualifies as too little? Explain your answer. 8. Is the unregulated selfish pursuit of the profit incentive ultimately harmful or beneficial for society? Do you find this selfish pursuit to be immoral? Explain the reasoning behind your answer. Article in Question: Economic Freedom, Human Freedom, and Political Freedom (1991)-Milton Friedman 1. What is Friedmans main point of evidence for why human freedom is dependent on economic freedom? 2. A private project that is a failure is closed down while a government project that is a failure is expanded. Explain Friedmans reasoning behind this statement. 3. Economic freedom is a necessary pre-requisite for both human and political freedom; even if the reverse is not true. Do you agree with this conjecture? Explain why or why not.