Friedman is of course on more solid ground when writing about economics. His economic argument is the traditio nal one that businessmen are no more than agents of the shareholders who ultimately employ them. In his view, when functioning as businessmen their only duty is to these owners. He therefore concludes that any action by a businessman that does not aim to maximise profits amounts to a tax on that business, which should be left to government alone. Friedman is therefore dismissive of any notion of corporate social responsibility: