Question

What is the narrow free market perspective on business's responsibility to the environment?  

Answer 1

Business has wider environmental responsibilities than those required under a narrow free market approach A common alternative argues that certain goods are so important that they should be exempted from preferential market trade optimization This alternative would support limits, typically in the form of government regulation, on the economic objectives of businesses.

The laws enacted in the 1970s set standards that transferred the blame from those threatened with damage to those that would cause harm. It set minimum standards to ensure the quality of air and water and the survival of biodiversity. In the U.S. in the 1970s, unregulated markets were viewed as insufficient to tackle environmental challenges Alternatively, federal controls were perceived as the best way to address environmental issues in the 1970s: Clean Air Act, 1972: Federal Water Pollution Act.

This regulatory approach is an improvement over the narrow view that it recognizes the legitimacy of exempting certain environmental objectives from market trade-offs. Our convictions and values, expressed through law and consumer choices, establish an ethical context in which we can pursue our economic goals.