Milton Friedman (1912-2006), one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, was a free-market advocate, libertarian, teacher, and iconoclast. While his ideas often challenged conventional thinking, he may be best known today for the Friedman Doctrine, which holds that a corporation’s only social responsibility is to increase its profits. Beginning in the 1960s, Ralph Nader and other consumer advocates attacked General Motors with lawsuits, shareholder initiatives, and proposed regulations to improve safety, reduce racial discrimination, and advance other social goals. In response, Friedman wrote an article that ran in The New York Times on September 13, 1970, entitled…