Milton Friedman's [13 September 1970] 3,000-word essay on the question of social responsibility in business set out the case so concisely and so attractively that it shaped the culture of management and business for decades to come. From then on, the question of the purpose of the corporation was more or less settled. Essays and panel sessions on 'ethical capitalism', 'corporate responsibility' and 'stakeholders' would continue among successful people with socialist or Christian parents. But although we tried to take the opposite case seriously, everybody really knew that corporations serve the purpose of shareholder value, and that was an end to it.

— The Unaccountability Machine by Dan Davies (Page 205)