ABSTRACT
Notice that both Mark Green and William Wynn speak of “abuses” and, thus, of the alleged irresponsibility of corporations. Green refers explicitly to the need for models of “corporate social responsibility (CSR).” The social permission theory holds that corporations exist and act by permission of society at large and/or the state. Corporations are obligated to consider all possible “constituents” because all possible constituents make up society at large. These “constituents” were the ones who gave corporations permission to do business in the first place, and thus it is they to whom corporations are obligated A review of the literature will indicate the strong commitment social permission theorists have to the concession theory. The concession theory has come under serious attack by Robert Hessen. The social permission theory tends to ground the moral foundations of CSR on the idea that society determines the nature and scope of moral obligation or responsibility.
