Passage Discussion

[uhdang]

It was interesting to read this because this issue is what makes us actually wonder in our daily life. Also, it was interesting that this passage is about the response (author's) to the response (economists') to the criticism (many people's)

[Passage Analysis]

P1: Criticism towards corporations goes further to morally blame them for disregarding contribution to the public good, and economists respond to this.

P2: Economists' response #1 -- Corporations are not persons but syndicates of owners, so application of the concept of morality is different than with individual

P3: Economists' response #2 -- CEO’s primary responsibility is to maximize the profit (not in charitable organization) / but even in non charitable organization CEO should still work to maximize the profit, for it will eventually benefit the public.

P4: But economists defense is insufficient, for maximizing profits doesn’t guarantee public good + they should be aware of the effect on public and decide not to act on certain decisions -- thus, no excuse for their behavior.
*paper mill example.

Overall: Against the criticism about corporation’s negative influence on the public, economists try to justify their intention, but their responses are insufficient to justify their profit-maximizing attitude without concern for the public.