In a recent article (August 23) in the Wall Street Journal, Aneel Karnani writes an eloquent article on the case against CSR. Unfortunately, most of the points that he makes are highly debatable and in this article, I outline my own thoughts about the points that he makes…Karnani...concludes that “In the end, social responsibility is a financial calculation for executives“. This is surprising...because he seems not to recognize the huge strategic potential of CSR when linked to brand, reputation, trust and in turn, differentiation, competitiveness and the ability to attract the best talent. These are far more than simple financial calculations. They are part of developing the long term value for the business...[T]he fact of the matter is that CSR is an investment...[G]overnments have seemed unable (or unwilling) to reach global agreements over challenges such as climate change, poverty alleviation and the protection of human rights in countries run by despots...The only truly global player is business. And global businesses must recognize that they have global responsibilities – this is part of their social license to operate.