The heroic enterprise

by John M. Hood

Commentators, analysts, and academics have long cherished the notion that there is a fundamental contradiction between corporate profit-seeking and ethical or social responsibility. In this powerful, long-awaited response to these critics, John Hood argues that business owners and managers have huge incentives to promote economic and social progress. Moreover, he finds, the vast majority do so. With compelling evidence, Hood demonstrates how the incentives of the private sector marketplace dwarf those of the public sector in advancing the common good. Replying to those who assert that firms must have social responsibilities beyond economic self-interest, Hood shows that corporations seeking economic rewards have made enormous strides on behalf of workers, families, consumers, and local communities by developing new products and technologies, discovering new ways to prevent workplace accidents, attempting to reduce bottom-line costs, and furthering their own long-term interests through