Corporate social responsibility has evolved from being of peripheral interest to practitioners and scholars to being an accepted mainstream field of study. CSR now has dedicated Divisions in the Academy of Management (SIM and ONE), dedicated Journals such as "Journal of Corporate Citizenship" and "Organization and Environment", and a constant stream of articles in other academic journals.

The study of CSR has benefit for both corporations and society, and any field that attempts to enhance communities, society, or the common good must be lauded; however, this field has taken a path divorced from the overwhelming economic realities of global capitalism. An assumption that economic constraints and pressures have little effect on corporate decision-making and behavior seems to be common in the CSR literature. Too often we read of corporate decision-makers who undertake environmental or social behaviors because it is "the-right-thing-to-do" as though they were operating in a vacuum devoid of economic constraints.

This paper argues that at least four economic realities and forces dominate all CSR decisions, regardless of the social patina of good intentions and social responsibility glossed over these decisions. These economic "realities" dominate and constrain all decisions regarding environmental, social, and political behavior, regardless of corporate desire or awareness. The study of CSR requires grounding in economic realities if the field is to have increased influence and power in developing a more sustainable global commons.