ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a brief description of different theoretical positions from ancient until contemporary philosophical concepts, searching for evidence of named opposition. It outlines the notion that modern philosophies–such as I. Kant's and G.W.F. Hegel's–can be read as an attempt to construct self-interest and social-interest as two sides of the same principle. The chapter presents a totally different way of theorizing ethics and economics which belongs to the so-called 'systems theory' formulated extensively by Niklas Luhmann. It shows how contemporary theories either try to avoid that false contradiction or how they try to overcome it. The chapter deals with a short description of the idea of systems-theory and how this mode of theorizing might handle the notion of corporate citizenship. The notion of corporate citizenship appears as the name for a genuine task of all members of a society to realize mutual benefits, investigating in their own condition of existence.
