See? Even the economists are doing it.

Encouraging responsible economic growth, that is. In the May 28 edition of Business Week, Clayton M. Christensen (professor at Harvard B-School) and Scott D. Anthony (president of Innosight, a consulting firm) urge managers to shift away from paradigms that maximize profits for shareholders in the short term, to ones that focus on responsibly growing the companies in the long term.

Christensen and Anthony advise managers to tell people who hold their company's shares:
"You are investors and speculators, not shareholders, and you temporarily find yourselves holding the securities of our company. You are responsible for maximizing the returns on your investments. Our responsibility is to maximize the long-term value of this company. We will therefore act in the interest of those whose interests coincide with our long-term prospects, namely employees, customers, the communities in which our employees live, and the minority of investors who plan to hold our securities for several years."

They continue:
Well-intentioned, smart managers are systematically destroying companies by failing to take actions they know are right in the long term. . . managers should find ways to reward investors and stakeholders who want innovation, not plunder.

Kudos to them.