Whether businesses should have social duties, besides legal ones, has been debated for a long time. Capitalist markets are populated by firms that strive to optimize profits within the limits of the law. So why, and when, have we started to think that corporations' legal responsibility was not enough and that and additional social responsibility was required? Of course, the idea of social responsibility is linked to business ethics, and scholars have addressed this issue. Zamagni not only reviews the state of the art, but also looks ahead and attempts to envisage the future of corporate social responsibility. The author's thesis is very clear: even corporate social responsibility is no longer enough. If we want to stimulate a declining economy we need to aim for corporate civil responsibility in the specific form of corporate global citizenship.

Stefano Zamagni teaches Political Economy at the University of Bologna and is Adjunct Professor of International Political Economy at the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center.