As in the days of the robber barons, “villainous” business behavior has once again become a cultural touchstone in the United States. But while it is tempting to focus on individual personalities, the bigger problem is an institutional environment that no longer holds bad actors accountable.
BOSTON – Are successful businesspeople more like heroes or villains? In fictional accounts, one can find plenty of examples of each, from Charles Dickens’s miserly Ebenezer Scrooge to Ayn Rand’s rugged individualist entrepreneur John Galt. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan represents privileged old money, with its ruthlessness and incapacity for empathy, whereas Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire with no shortage of sentimentality and idealism.
One finds the same distinctions in social-science depictions of entrepreneurs. Joseph Schumpeter and his followers viewed entrepreneurs as the engines of growth, the heroic figures who delivered “gales of creative destruction.” By contrast, Frederick Engels’s The Condition of the Working Class in England heaped scorn on British industrialists who pushed their workers not just into poverty but into inhumane working and living conditions. But later, he and Karl Marx made the two roles an essential part of their theory of capitalism: ruthless businesspeople exploit workers but also unleash innovation and growth, ultimately transforming society.
These conflicting depictions reflect society’s complex views of business. Obviously, it would be naive to expect all businesspeople to be either heroes or villains. Like most of us, they are often both.
To continue reading, register now.
As a registered user, you can enjoy more PS content every month – for free.
Register
Subscribe now for unlimited access to everything PS has to offer.
Already have an account? Log in
PS Events: Investing in Health for All
Don’t miss what Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Werner Hoyer, Sandra Gallina, Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, and more had to say at our latest virtual event, Investing in Health for All. Click here to watch.
Watch Now
Writing for PS since 2012
54 Commentaries
Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics at MIT, is co-author (with James A. Robinson) of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty (Profile, 2019) and The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty (Penguin, 2020).
Before posting a comment, please confirm your account. To receive another confirmation email, please click here.
It appears that you have not yet updated your first and last name. If you would like to update your name, please do so here.
After posting your comment, you’ll have a ten-minute window to make any edits. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.
Support Project Syndicate
Subscribe Upgrade Donate
Please log in or register to continue. Registration is free and requires only your email address.
required
required
Please enter your email address and click on the reset-password button. If your email exists in our system, we’ll send you an email with a link to reset your password. Please note that the link will expire twenty-four hours after the email is sent. If you can’t find this email, please check your spam folder.
required
By proceeding, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions.
Sign in with
Facebook
Microsoft
Twitter
To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.
If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.
About Author
