Trusteeship provides a means of transforming the present capitalist order of society into an egalitarian one. It gives no quarter to capitalism, but gives the present owning class a chance of reforming itself. It is based on the faith that human nature is never beyond redemption. Trusteeship is the concept of universal consequence and which itself, a new alternative to honestly correct the ills of social accumulation and at the same time gives those with managerial and entrepreneurial expertise to use the same for the good of the society. Accepting trusteeship and translating it into reality will cast great responsibility on those who will undertake experiment, but in the ultimate analysis it will be worth and in the national interest. Corporate social responsibility as understood today has almost all the elements of Gandhiji’s trusteeship. Like Gandhiji’s concept of trusteeship, corporate social responsibility calls upon business to give back to society. CSR enjoins business to take into consideration the needs and aspirations of the stakeholders.

Trusteeship, Corporate Social Responsibility, Stakeholders, Gandhian economics

JEL Classification: H-Public Economics