Previous | Next
Session: 1234567891011121314151617 Page 601602603604605606607608609610611612613614615616617618619620621622623624625626627628629630631632633634635636637638639640641642643644645 of 824
What do you think is the corporation's responsibility, if any, to the society in which it operates?
Well, I happen to think that society particularly our society, and this is what is good about our society, is made up of innumerable building blocks. And that each of these building blocks has a responsibility of its own that it should exercise and should not wait to be told what it should do. And it's the fact that we have such a variety of building blocks that gives our society more of a flexibility than others haves. And that if the society as a whole is good it's in large part because of the efforts of those in each of the building blocks. And it's the sum total of those efforts that makes the country. It's not the government that makes it. So the answer is yes. I think it has a very considerable responsibility. That is one of the reasons why I'm so furious about what's going on today, 1986-87, where essentially we're going back going back to, not even to Adam Smith, but pre Adam Smith. Where it doesn't matter what you do, it's just the bottom line that counts, this quarter's bottom line. I think you have a responsibility to your employees, to your customers, to your stock holders, to your environment, people within reach of it, and to society as a whole. I've always felt this-
What's the nature of the responsibility?
Well, the nature is that we live in an imperfect
© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help