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What does it mean for something to be ESG when two of those words are adjectives and one is a noun? I mean think about it. “Environmental, social, and governance” doesn’t really describe anything. It’s also a good example of cacophony. So can someone please explain what it means? 

Today, luckily, Paul Mueller, senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, comes to my rescue. He explains what ESG means and how it relates to CSR (corporate social responsibility, ESG’s more comprehensible predecessor). He answers a question that’s been plaguing me forever, which is, why are free marketeers generally against these types of movements, even though they are private endeavors?

Want to explore more?

• Paul Mueller, A Short Guide to ESG, at AIER.
• Paul Mueller, ESG Puppeteers, at AIER.
• Dwight R. Lee, Corporate Social Responsibility: The Seen and the Unseen, at Econlib.
• David Henderson, ESG Feeds Inflation, Hurts Economic Growth, at Econlib.
• Read the entry on Corporate Governance in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. 

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