Social Responsibility And The Free Enterprise System

Social responsibility is generally regarded as a duty of an organization’s management towards the benefit and well-being of the society in which it is engaged. The organization must behave ethically considering the social, cultural, economic and environmental issues.

The government can not censor the press, even if what is published is against the government. The free press helps to protect citizens’ rights and hold the government in check. Also in accordance to the First Amendment, people have the right to join any organization of their choosing and come together as a group, peaceably. The last right that the public has is the right to present the government with petitions or letters that tell of their unhappiness and complaints against the government. This is a right that our founding fathers did not have back in England. When they declared independence from the King, they laid out all of their grievances for the world to see. In contrast, our citizens today do no have to wait for a historical event to vent their frustrations.

Freedom of the press was the point of the First Amendment, letting everyone have a right to their opinion that was not available before the Revolutionary War. However, this is not the first time that the government tried to counter act this right. President John Adams, signed the first Sedition Act into law which were repealed by President Jefferson in 1801. The American Government promised freedom of the press when we became a country, and I see no reason whatsoever to take it away. Absolutely, was this an unquestionable contravention of the First Amendment. Contributing classified military secrets to the enemy is one thing I can understand them trying to stop, but not taking away a right that blood was shed to achieve. Hence forth,

The Founding Fathers wrote free speech into the First Amendment because they wanted people to be able to speak of serious matters and of the news, which is critical in a democracy. George Washington said, “If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.” (Newburgh). Free speech was not meant for any opinion or thought that people have, because most thoughts are not important enough to be heard. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to James Currie and Edward Carrington and said, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost… Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” (Society). The right to free speech was meant primarily for journalists and the press, again restating the fact that not all opinions are meant to be heard.

The Sedition Act of 1918, enacted during World War I, made it illegal to “willfully utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States.” While the Sedition Act was passed as a cautionary measure to keep peace within the country in the midst of a red scare, the government overstepped a boundary by censoring the conversation on war. During wartime, vulnerable Americans deserve their first amendment rights more than ever in order to protect themselves. By restricting the media, the government suppressed the spread of ideas, hampered the voice of the citizens, and enforced paranoia of foreigners both during and immediately after World War I.

It is often easy to forget why we, as Americans, have the freedoms that we do. The liberties that other countries do not have are liberties that we take for granted. Being able to write and publish anything was very important to the framers of the constitution. So important in fact, that is was included in the first amendment. The framers included freedom of the press in the first amendment because it allowed the public to be educated on everything that occurs with their government and for citizens to be influenced by others ideas to form their own opinions.

The first attempt to provide a constitutional basis for the protection of free expression on private property  freedom of press  allows parties who are not currently in power and whose views oppose those of the current in-power party the ability to freely express their views.

In the book Freedom for the Thought that we Hate, author Anthony Lewis takes a simply phrased law, the First Amendment and shows how complex freedom of speech really is once put into the real world of freedom, as we know it. He shows through his rejections of absolutism, strong support towards freedom restriction, and objective analysis of Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, that the United States press is unlike any other in the world.

Corporate Social Responsibility are actions taken by a corporation that have positive and lasting impact for all stakeholders associated with the organization, seeking to strike a balance between profits and helping to establish lasting investment in the community (Carrol, 2015). In the 1980’s, then President Reagan challenged the business community to take on more responsibility to address social problems (Carrol, 2015). Socially responsible actions can benefit local communities as well as the greater societal good.

In the United States, freedom of the press and the broader freedom of speech are protected by the First

The first Amendment of The United States Constitution gives everyone the opportunity for freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Despite, the United America living by the the value that everyone has freedom of speech and equal opportunities, the first Amendment should be limited because it can uphold national security and general hostility. As this already occurred in our nation’s past, with the Red Scare which led to Schneck vs United States in 1919, and the second Red Scare that led to the McCarthy era and Dennis vs the United States in the 1950s. Our nation already had a history of the first amendment causing scrutiny in a stressful time. History cannot repeat itself, as it is a must that freedom of speech and press must be limited , while our nation goes through a drastic time for the sake of the American people and the United States of America.

If consumption is social, production is also social. What is social responsibility in production? What instances can you identify where media creators have shown social responsibility with respect to audiences?

As always, there are those individuals that oppose the power to censor. There are members of society that believe in the freedom to speak publicly and to publish. This is a basic belief in the freedom of expression and is to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. On the eve of the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, the first wave of a nationwide survey, comprising more than 1500 citizens was conducted. Through this survey it was found that American rate free speech as their second most precious First Amendment right and regard a free press highly in the abstract. Although there are strong cases made for and against censorship, the rising trend calling for censorship can threaten our basic rights to free expression and the right to be informed. At the center of the debate is the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees our right to read, speak, write, and communicate freely. The government at the state or federal level cannot

First of all, this is the definition of freedom of the press from lawbrain.com. Freedom of the press guarantees the rights, “to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction or restraint”. Also it is

Is the deception of consumers worth making a profit? The Ford Pinto, popular car of the 1970s, made a profit off of a vehicle that endangered the lives of hundreds of people. In his essay “Pinto Madness” Mark Dowie, author and Pulitzer Prize nominee, exposed the unethical decisions made by Ford Motor Company. When it came to their customer’s safety and profit for the company, Ford made a decision that led to consequences their customers had to pay the price for. Should the business be held accountable for these actions? In his essay “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profit” Milton Friedman, powerful economist, discusses what a business should prioritize in the economic system. Friedman declares what a business is responsible for and the guidelines they must follow. Due to Friedman’s view, he would not have condoned the actions and decisions that the executives at Ford Motor Company took.