I wanna surface this to my main timeline because it's kinda important to say out loud from time to time:
Businesses do NOT "have to" focus exclusively on their return to shareholders. Not legally, not morally.
That is the misguided OPINION of a 1970 essay by Milton Friedman, and the fact that everyone seemed to just hop on board that opinion is a significant reason why we switched gears into hyper-hell-capitaliam since then.
Push back on this every time you see it.
@danhulton I think that goes the wrong way:
Yes, businesses have to focus exclusively on their return to shareholders INCLUDING non-financial returns like making the world the better place that shareholders would like to live in.
It's one of those cases where you can take the premise and use it to get to a better conclusion instead of fighting it.
Let them have that premise. Just point out ways in which it leads to the better outcome.
