Reframing the Debate over Corporate Political Influence

Jerry Taylor, former President of Niskanen Center

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On August 26, 2021, we spoke with Jerry Taylor of the Niskanen Center to explore “CPR versus Shareholder Value: Is there Really a Debate?”

As the U.S. wrestles with policies related to COVID-19 safeguards, voting rights and election procedures, fossil fuel divestitures, and more, businesses face pressures both to get more involved and to stay out of societal, civic and political issues--to stick to their core business and building shareholder value. How should they respond? 

In this module, we explore:

• There is an active debate about whether businesses get involved in societal, civic and political issues. We saw it for many years around CSR, we hear it now about civic institutions and democracy, inequality, etc. Where do you come down?

• What implications do you see for going forward on current issues?

The Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce (CPRT)’s Expert Dialogues are in-depth, recorded conversations with academic experts, stakeholder advocates and business practitioners to provide our members and other CPR champions with the expertise and context they need to develop principled, proactive CPR strategies.We invite those interested in a constructive, non-partisan, principles-based discussion.

The Niskanen Center is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) think tank that works to promote an open society. As an organization heavily staffed by those who have come out of the world of libertarianism, the Niskanen Center is made up of globalists who share progressives’ desire to robustly address economic and social inequality, liberals’ commitment to toleration and civil liberties, moderates’ embrace of empiricism rather than dogma, conservatives’ belief in the wealth-creating power of free markets, and libertarians’ skepticism about the ability of technocratic elites to solve complex economic and social problems.

Keywords:

#CPRBusinessExpectations #CPRPractices #CPADistrust #CPRBusinessInvolvement #CPAShareholderValue #CPASelfInterest #CPRClimate