Businesses, essential to the well-being of societies

The company is an increasingly important player in contemporary economies, as it is at the crossroads of a growing number of diverse interests. It is no longer simply the place where capital and labour meet, or even clash, and its decisions, strategy and behaviour affect the whole of society. These divergences are expressed at the legal level with the contradictions between, on the one hand, the Pact law which advocates a ‘social interest’ and, on the other hand, Article 1833 of the Civil Code which requires that each company be formed in the common interest of its partners. This ambiguity is at the heart of the opposition between the “Friedman company” and the “company with a mission”. What is the assessment of these two conceptions? Do they respond to the well-being of society as a whole? Companies generate negative externalities on well-being and on their environment. Who should take these into account and how? All these questions call for answers, both in legal terms, in terms of corporate governance and its representative bodies, and in terms of values, in order to make the company an irresistible force for the common good.