ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL OBJECTIONS TO “MORAL CAPITALISM”

As corporations embrace corporate social responsibility (CSR), some hail the rise of “moral capitalism.” Masconale and Sepe argue that while CSR aligns with market efficiency—driven by demand from shareholders as well as consumers—it raises deeper political risks. Concentrated shareholder influence can bypass democratic processes, turning corporations into vehicles of “market vigilantism.” Moreover, when markets adjudicate moral disputes rather than sidestep them, they risk importing polarization into economic life, ultimately threatening the very democratic sensibility moral capitalism aims to uphold.