Unifying Concepts in Social Responsibility

Business can deal with social responsibility by: (a) avoiding the issue and encountering more regulation whenever adverse social impacts occur, (b) decentralizing and thus reducing authority and responsibility over individual lives, or (c) adopting public interest criteria into its decision process. Consequences of these options are explored through propositions designed to make social responsibility capable of disciplinary research and coherent analysis. Thus social responsibility may become more of a force in public policy, social costs more tractable, and the economy more adaptable.