Beyond ESG: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective on Corporate Responsibility

This post offers a philosophical and historical critique of ESG as a framework for corporate responsibility. It argues that while ESG was intended to integrate environmental and social ethics into business practice, it often reduces these concerns to external compliance—checklists, ratings, and metrics that fail to reflect authentic moral commitment.

Tracing the roots of business ethics from ancient economies to modern corporations, the author highlights how economic activity was once embedded in community values. Today’s institutionalized responsibility models—especially ESG—risk reinforcing the very separation between ethics and enterprise they seek to repair.

The piece calls for a return to an internal, values-driven approach: ethics as a natural part of business identity, not an afterthought. This shift begins with education—embedding ethical thinking in business curricula from the outset, shaping future leaders who see responsibility not as a regulatory burden but as a core principle of their profession.

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