The Fragile Structure of Free-Market Society

Abstract

Abstract:In this article thinking on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is compared with the dominant political theory of the market: the neoclassical theory. The comparison shows that thinking on CSR fundamentally collides with that theory. For example, their respective normative views on man are incompatible, as are their respective views on the modus operandi of the market. Given that CSR is desirable it follows that a new political theory of the market is needed. This article suggests some initial steps toward developing that new political theory of the market. For example, it defends the proposition that the neoclassical idea of the market as a harmonic sphere must be replaced by the idea of the market as a fragile system.