The article refers to research by Stephen Barley (2007) and replies to criticism by Peter Edward and Hugh Willmott concerning the authors' own research on the political aspects of corporate social responsibility. The Barley study suggests that business's influence on politics can negatively impact representative democracy. The reply comments on private- and public-sector cooperation, economic theory that separates the sectors' respective activities, conditions that maintain legitimacy for the social institutions of business and government, and voluntary philanthropy.