It is now a widely held view that a new era has dawned in which businesses must adopt a new conception of their mission, purpose and conduct, by endorsing and implementing corporate social responsibility. In ‘The Role of Business in the Modern World’, Professor David Henderson argues that now, as in the past, the primary role of business is to act as a vehicle for economic progress. This role depends upon business enterprises operating with the framework of a competitive market economy. If we ask businesses to achieve broader social goals, we risk undermining the very system in which business activity leads to opportunity and prosperity.
Professor Henderson describes the unprecede