Viewpoint: Global responsibility and total freedom

The notion of global responsibility is coming to light as it appears that the control of the economies by nation-states has proved inefficient. Therefore, solutions are often sought by appealing to responsibility (for enterprises, individuals, interest groups …). In particular, global responsibility calls for firms to limit their own activities when it opposes the general interest. But it is generally admitted in the firms that a condition to maximize their profits is all about allowing the laws of economy to express themselves, without any restraint, in order to give their whole potential. In this sense, it refers to “total freedom”. This article tries to re-examine the very concept of global responsibility versus total freedom. For that it addresses the question through two major issues: (1) responsibility as an external constraint, a source of improvement; (2) the responsibility of corporate governance for financial transparency.