The new statement (via Fortune) says that "Each of our stakeholders is essential. We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities, and our country." Here is AP's account.
The statement is vague enough both to be consistent with Friedman''s view that the corporate executive's "responsibility is to
conduct the business in accordance with [the shareholders'] desires, which generally will be to make as
much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those
embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom" and to be taken as a call to sacrifice shareholder wealth for the benefit of other stakeholders. Friedman and I wonder how directors should determine how much shareholder wealth to sacrifice for the benefit of other stakeholders.
"Walmart is one of the wonders of the modern world, built from scratch in a hyper-competitive environment, scaled from nothing to the largest company in the US by revenue and by headcount, all resulting from a singular vision of saving everyday people money with everyday low prices. It is the most successful social welfare system ever implemented, saving billions and billions of dollars for everyday Americans without costing taxpayers a dime. It is a testament to the power of compounding interest, to the power of a focused plan executed violently for decades" (Zack Kanter).
