A topic that will remain controversial, is the question of the extent to which businesses have ‘social responsibility.’ Many noted economists, such as Milton Friedman, have vehemently rejected the idea that businessmen should act in a way that is considered socially responsible, such as, preventing product price increase in attempt to avoid inflation. Friedman argues that capitalism is in nature a system requiring individuals to act in a way that benefit themselves. Hence, acting socially responsible could conflict with the interests of the corporation, which definitely defeats the purpose of the free-enterprise system. Friedman argues ‘social responsibility’ as to being the role of the government, thus, if businesses put the objectives of social responsibility before profit, the free market system would be overcast by political aspects. For such arguments, it was widely believed that businesses should stay within their main focus of making profit, which should be their primary, or only, ‘social responsibility’.
However, these views may have changed with our modern business world, and newer ways of being ‘socially responsible’ have been uncovered. With technology and social media booming in our twenty-first century, it is extremely difficult for businesses to not think globally. McLuhan’s prospect of a “global village” is rapidly turning into reality. Regardless of race, gender, sexual-orientation, nationality, we have become multitudes more interconnected than ever before. With new situations arise new problems, and with new problems arise new responsibilities to solve these problems. Stereotypes and cultural clashes regarding different types of people have become more universally shared at the same instant that the world becomes more connected. As there are many cases of such social media platforms we can observe to possess this quality of unifying the world into a large hub of topics, Twitter is perhaps the best example of all. Its ability to push something to become the ‘next hot topic’ is a phenomenon we do not address anymore, only because it is a feature that we, the newer generation, are so accustomed to in our daily lives.
However, Twitter’s ability in shaping media trends cannot be ignored. It sees the social problem that our modern generation has, and is contributing its strength in media power to diminish these issues regarding differences in people, and focuses instead on the similarities everyone shares. Is not growing a community, where all members feel inclusive, a great example of being socially responsible? Twitter should be accredited for its aim in manifesting a platform where members feel a sense of belonging, and its programs in inspiring the employees themselves to gain awareness of the unconscious stereotypes we set for people we meet–the stereotypes which prevent this world to socialize in a manner that is non-discriminatory and unscrupulous.
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