Comment by cratermoon

Your question is a reflection of just how engrained the Friedman doctrine has become in business. Milton Friedman introduced his theory in 1970, but it really got a boost in the 80s. First in 1981 when President Reagan named him to his Economic Policy Advisory Board and again in 1988, when Reagan gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science.

There are still many competing theories of business ethics, but the Friedman doctrine is what drives corporations today.