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‘FRIEDMAN IS RIGHT
that businesses are constructs that have the purpose of generating and increasing income through the provision of goods
and services. Like him, I
see companies as artificial people who act through corporate executives; individuals who have the strategic responsibility to do everything they can to enable their organisations to thrive and survive financially.
‘However, surviving and thriving by generating and increasing income can only be achieved in an enabling environment. Once this environment ceases to exist due to, for instance, strikes, riots, high levels of crime, environmental hazards, such as climate change, and health pandemics leading
to disastrous lockdowns, businesses’ survival, and their profitability, come under threat. The proof lies in the current state of affairs in which companies around the world have closed and
are closing down because of their countries’ respective Covid-19 lockdowns.
‘Private businesses can help safeguard and boost their enabling environments through socially and environmentally responsible practices. Responsibility
is not mutually exclusive
to business interests and profits. I view it as a tool
to advance a business’s financial interests.
‘Look at the growing global army of successful social enterprises, businesses
that are using commercial strategies to maximise
their financial gains while growing their social impact to create a freer world. This list is endless and includes Ashoka, the Grameen Bank, ME to WE and Babban Gona. All of them and many other ventures around
the world demonstrate that one can build responsible and profitable businesses by providing sustainable solutions to social challenges.’
THE STATE’S TASK IS TO HELP CREATE AN ENABLING
AND NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
Gail Sham, founder of Scoop Communications
‘BUSINESSES ARE NOT
philanthropic organisations, so in that sense, Friedman is right: they are there to make money to grow their footprint, increase their profits and hire more people. Sure, too many government regulations can stifle the private sector, notably smaller businesses that do not have the capacity or tools to deal with too much red tape.
‘The state’s task is to
help create an enabling and nurturing environment for business, the economy, and the workforce, but so should the private sector. When company owners, managers and stakeholders don’t take their responsibility in terms of climate change and social development seriously, they will have to face the music at some point.
‘By not reducing their carbon footprint and overall environmental impact, companies – the largest contributors to climate change – are not only harming the planet, they are also hurting themselves. Climate change has
vast repercussions for businesses. The proof lies
in the stats: earlier this year, Munich Re said that extreme weather events in 2020
cost the world economy $210 billion. That is not pocket change.’ M
FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF
Reimagining Capitalism: How Business can Save the World
by Rebecca Henderson (Penguin Random House South Africa)
Rebecca Henderson is a professor at Harvard who taught its popular Reimagining Capitalism: Business & the Big Problems course for years,but she is no naive tree hugger. She believes that purpose- driven companies can bring about much- needed change and her research has shown that those who do are more resilient in the face of competition and crises. Reimagining Capitalism was shortlisted for the FT & McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year award.
Miriam Mannak
is a senior sustainability
journalist and content producer specialising
in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. She works for media outlets and organisations in South Africa and around the world.
legacySPACE corporate responsibility
SURVIVING AND THRIVING BY GENERATING AND INCREASING INCOME CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED IN AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
Onyi Nwaneri, CEO at Afrika Tikkun Services
ISSUE 1 2021 | 43
THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON ‘A FREE MARKET MANIFESTO THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, RECONSIDERED’ WHICH APPEARED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES ON 11 SEPTEMBER 2020. ILLUSTRATION: CJ BURTON/GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED