In a climate in which companies are frequently painted as social outlaws, and where much pressure is exerted on them fundamentally to change their ways, business for the most part takes the line of appeasement and acquiescence. In corporate circles this acquiescence is evident everywhere and has given rise to the burgeoning industry of ‘corporate social responsibility’. Should business be going along with this?

The current conversation about business and society is dominated by the perspectives and interests of those who live in rich western countries. Activists, analysts and others – however well intentioned – do not grasp the realities of poverty and the hard choices of development outside the rich industrialised world. As a result, the debate about business, ‘responsibility’ and corporate involvement in development is distorted, with few voices from developing countries being heard and the positive legacy of business remaining unacknowledged.

In this book, Ann Bernstein argues forcefully and cogently that a new approach and a new discourse are required to cut through an increasingly flawed conversation, one which has potentially dangerous consequences for the poor and for developing countries in particular. Informed by many years of living, working, and championing the role of business in growth and development in a middle-income developing country, Bernstein urges business not to let such attacks stand unchallenged. It must find the confidence and strategic vision to stop apologising, develop its own public agenda, and start propagating the phenomenal benefits of competitive capitalism for the less developed countries of the world.

Ann Bernstein is the founding director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) in Johannesburg. She is acknowledged as one of South Africa’s leading development experts and is a strong proponent of the importance of economic growth in promoting democracy and sustainable development. Well known internationally, she travels extensively, regularly addressing conferences and other meetings both in South Africa and abroad. She is a regular commentator on radio and television and frequently contributes articles to journals and newspapers on a wide variety of issues.