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The socio-historical approach adopted here considers the political dimension of corporate social responsibility. Managerial discourse presents an institutional vision of the business as an entity with a mission, which is a source of social and political values valid throughout society. In this discourse, business presents itself as a political tool of contemporary capitalism, a collection of means which aim to extend capitalism’s control of collective destiny. Corporate social responsibility thus appears as a fiction which does not lack effectiveness, notably that of giving a number of participants good reason to believe in this responsibility and to put it into action.