Review of Kiyoteru Tsutsui and Alwyn Lim (eds.), "Corporate Social Responsibility in a Globalizing World" (original) (raw)

Tsutsui and Lim bring together some of the best research on the phenomenon of “corporate social responsibility” (CSR), loosely defined as corporations’ voluntary assumption of social or environmental obligations beyond those required by law. Despite its merits, however, the book seems to neglect the implications of its own findings. Many of the authors note (often in passing) the manifest inadequacies of CSR initiatives: “only a tiny portion of all the major corporations in the world are members” of these voluntary initiatives, and membership requirements are often minimal (Shell, BP, Coca-Cola, General Motors, and Nike are all prominent CSR participants). But the authors tend to avoid the logical follow-up questions: can the modern corporation, and capitalist system itself, ever be made compatible with human and planetary needs? And looking beyond CSR, how might workers and social movements best target corporations?