How Public Spirited Is American Business?

Abstract

IN attempting to answer question posed by title of this article, I shall refer to several hundred large corporations which we think of collectively as business. This restriction of subject is made only in interests of clarity and brevity. A discussion of public spirit of our several million smaller enterprises would be both useful and important, but it would require special treatment beyond scope of this paper. Thus in following paragraphs, when such words as business, businessman, leader, are used without qualifying adjectives, they refer exclusively to big business.' Many of leaders of America's large corporations are deeply concerned about their obligations to society. This is not an entirely new phenomenon. The concepts of stewardship and the gospel of wealth are, of course, old ideas dating back perhaps several centuries. And for at least fifty years, a growing number of businessmen have seriously pondered their role in modern society and have earnestly considered how this role might be integrated more fully into total social structure. Only within past few years, however, and particularly since World War II, have large numbers of business leaders actively preached doctrine that they are servants of society and proclaimed their obligations not only to-