As Michael Fowlkes points out, economist Milton Friedman recently passed away and his accomplishments have been lionized. But I disagree with Friedman's views on corporate philanthropy.

Specifically I think Friedman was wrong to argue that corporations have only one purpose -- to maximize shareholder value. Friedman thought that chief executive officers who talked about giving back to their communities were merely displaying one of their ''suicidal impulses.'' The notion that businesses should aim to avoid pollution, say, or donate resources to a neighborhood was ''pure and unadulterated socialism,'' Friedman wrote in 1970. Corporations, Friedman argued, had but one purpose: to increase profits as much as was humanly possible. If you're feeling generous, give the money to shareholders.

In Value Leadership, I argued that corporations have a vital interest in giving to their communities. Companies that contribute to the communities in which they operate display a commitment to others that makes potential employees and customers feel better about the companies. In particular, I found three key activities that match corporate donors and recipients in a mutually beneficial way:

At the age of 94, one of the most respected economists ever, Milton Friedman, passed away today. Although Mr. Friedman never held a formal appointment in government administration after World War Two, his influences were felt throughout his lifetime and will continue to shape the economic world for years to come.

In 1976 Mr. Friedman was given the ultimate recognition when he received the Nobel Prize for his "achievements in the field of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy." His views on unemployment and inflation were revolutionary and are still used to shape policies at the Fed today. Friedman contended in the 60's that policy makers would never be able to achieve a permanent trade off between lower unemployment and higher inflation, and efforts to do so would only achieve the same unemployment with higher inflation.

Mr. Friedman served as an adviser to both Reagan and Nixon and his influence is credited to having a huge impact on the ending of the American military draft. He also served as president of the American Economic Association in 1967.

Mr. Friedman passed away in his home town San Francisco after suffering heart failure. This is truly a loss of one of the most brilliant and influential economists in American history.