Altruism? Bah, Humbug

Altruism? Bah, Humbug: "Altruism? Bah, Humbug
by Radley Balko
Radley Balko is a policy analyst for the Cato Institute.
In the United States, the post-Enron professional and political world buzzes with phrases like 'corporate governance,' 'corporate citizenship,' and 'social responsibility.' The same, I am sad to hear, is becoming true of Hong Kong. Corporations today are regularly scolded by consumer activists and politicians who implore them to eschew profit-seeking every now and then for more conscientious endeavors. The implication is that there is something cold and inhumane about the raw and rugged free market -- that the profit motive alone isn't sufficiently altruistic to turn loose on polite society.