businessesare

Businessesare is a neologism used in economic and ethical discourse to denote the idea that businesses play a central and determinative role in society. The term functions as a conceptual shorthand rather than a formal theory, and it is often employed in discussions of corporate accountability, governance, and social impact.

The expression has appeared in online forums, policy papers, and think-tank writings since the 2010s, sometimes in the concatenated form businessesare or as the two-word phrase "businesses are." It is commonly used to frame arguments about the obligations of firms to consider workers, communities, the environment, and long-term societal outcomes alongside profitability.

In practice, the term is used within debates on corporate social responsibility, ESG reporting, and stakeholder theory. Proponents argue that recognizing the broader role of businesses can justify policies that align corporate incentives with social well-being. Critics caution that the phrase can be vague or rhetorical, and may obscure the diverse interests of different stakeholders or oversimplify causal relationships between business actions and social outcomes.

See also: Corporate social responsibility, ESG, Stakeholder theory, Corporate governance, Business ethics.