ESG: Myths and Realities is a new essay series that highlights the misunderstandings and simplifications of Environmental, Social and Governance investing—ESG investing for short. The second essay, Friedman and His ESG Critics, revisits Nobel laureate Milton Friedman’s iconic 1970 article in the New York Times, which argued that the sole responsibility of business is to increase profits, and that it is misguided to expect managers of businesses to try to achieve broad public policy objectives.