>[!abstract] >A normative theory of business ethics advanced by economist Milton Friedman that holds that the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. This shareholder primacy approach views shareholders as the economic engine of the organization and the only group to which the firm is socially responsible. As such, the goal of the firm is to increase its profits and maximize returns to shareholders. Friedman argued that the shareholders can then decide for themselves what social initiatives to take part in rather than have an executive whom the shareholders appointed explicitly for business purposes decide such matters for them (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!quote] >In a free-enterprise, private-property system, a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business. He has direct responsibility to his employers. That responsibility is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires [...] the key point is that, in his capacity as a corporate executive, the manager is the agent of the individuals who own the corporation [...] and his primary responsibility is to them ([[Friedman, 1970]]). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): — >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —