The Open Company

In spite of faults I see, I have to give Microsoft some credit to the extent that it has the culture of a miniature open society and that Robert Scoble and Steve Ballmer can publicly disagree over Microsoft's experience with an anti-discrimination bill in the Washington State legislature.

This has spawned a debate over corporate citizenship and social responsibility. Some seem to take the perspective of Milton Friedman who once argued that the social responsibility of public corporations is to increase profits for shareholders--period--while others agree with Scoble in believing that public corporations should be involved in political issues.

It's an interesting debate.