BUSINESS is under intense pressure to embrace social responsibility. Asset managers allocate billions on the basis of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) scores. The public trusts business more than politicians to solve social problems. Activists beat the drum of corporate responsibility more loudly by the day.

Yet, the idea of ethical business is a conceptual and practical minefield. Companies such as Unilever that take the lead are often slammed not just by investors but also by activists. Conservatives are pig-wrestling mad about “woke corporations”. Governments exploit corporate activism as a way of handing social problems to the private sector.

How can sensible people find their way through this maze? A new book by Alison Taylor, Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World, provides the best guide that I have read so far.