In that tradition, the economist Milton Friedman wrote, in his 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom : “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” For the true believers in this creed, the suggestion that the manager of a business should strive for anything except maximizing value for shareholders is heresy.
在传统上，经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼在他1962年的著作《资本主义与自由》中写道：“对于企业来说有且只有一个社会责任——那就是在遵守游戏规则的情况下尽量利用资源并进行营利活动，而所谓游戏规则，指的就是除欺诈和作伪行为之外的开放、自由竞争。”在弗里德曼这一观点的信徒看来，一个经理人如果摒弃了股东利益最大化而是为其他目标奔忙的话，那就是离经叛道之举。