When somebody offers something for nothing, I don’t cheer. I reach in my pocket to see if my wallet is still there.

So when a prominent C.E.O. lobbying group said over the summer that making profits for shareholders was only part of their business — and not necessarily the main part — I was skeptical, to say the least.

Speaking collectively as the Business Roundtable, C.E.O.s from companies like Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, Wells Fargo and Amazon declared that, really, they were devoted to serving employees and customers, protecting the environment and treating suppliers ethically.

Thank you. And now may I sell you a bridge?

The Roundtable’s claims were so vague that, at first, I ignored them. But they have gotten immense publicity, so I tried to determine whether the Roundtable’s prescription for a better world was realistic — and, if it was not, whether there might be better solutions.