Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate, is quoted as saying, "The business of business is business." He felt that business should be free to do what it needed to make as much profit as possible. For example, if society wanted clean air, it was not the responsibility of business, but rather it would be up to the government to set standards so that everyone played by the same rules. Under the common law, the employer-employee relationship was at-will, in the absence of a contract, businesses had few restrictions regarding how they operated. One hundred and fifty years ago, there were no child labor laws or OSHA requirements. If you were injured on the job because of an employer's poor safety practices, it was too bad because there were others who could take your place.
How has this attitude changed in the United States?