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For most of American history, businesses were run to provide livelihoods and "reasonable" profit. In the last few decades, though, business and society in the general have moved toward emphasizing profit maximization and individual self-interest.(1)____ The transfer from "reasonable profit" to profit maximization has significant implications for corporate behavior and government regulation.(2)____ However, how society views the purpose of the corporation has significant implications not only for business, but also for the perceived responsibilities of its civilians, their interactions with each other, and their obligation to their fellow countrymen.(3)____(4)____
Today, it is uncommon for corporations to direct their attention to serving for shareholder and management interests, and to achieving the highest short-term financial return.(5)____(6)____ Not only has this view become commonplace in society and the economy, it has permeated educational institutions and affected how young people see the role of corporations.
Lost in this orientation, though, is a sense of the corporation as a creature of the state, created and gave special powers and privileges by the state.(7)____ The historic balance between "we" versus "me" has shifted dramatic toward a focus on self-interest at the expense of societal interest.(8)____ The result has been a decline in broad social and economic values in favor of viewing the corporation solely a vehicle for personal financial enrichment.(9)____ That view represents a significant shift from the historical-which the grant of corporate privilege was to advance public purposes such as building roads, bridges, and canals.(10)____
