Author: Mark S. Mizruchi
File Type: pdf
In the aftermath of a financial crisis marked by bank-friendly bailouts and loosening campaign finance restrictions, a chorus of critics warns that business leaders have too much influence over American politics. Mark Mizruchi worries about the ways they exert too little. The Fracturing of the American Corporate Elite advances the surprising argument that American CEOs, seemingly more powerful today than ever, have abrogated the key leadership role they once played in addressing national challenges, with grave consequences for American society.Following World War II, American business leaders observed an ethic of civic responsibility and enlightened self-interest. Steering a course of moderation and pragmatism, they accepted the legitimacy of organized labor and federal regulation of the economy and offered support, sometimes actively, as Congress passed legislation to build the interstate highway system, reduce discrimination in hiring, and provide a safety net for the elderly and needy. In the 1970s, however, faced with inflation, foreign competition, and growing public criticism, corporate leaders became increasingly confrontational with labor and government. As they succeeded in taming their opponents, business leaders paradoxically undermined their ability to act collectively. The acquisition wave of the 1980s created further pressures to focus on shareholder value and short-term gain rather than long-term problems facing their country.Todays corporate elite is a fragmented, ineffectual group that is unwilling to tackle the big issues, despite unprecedented wealth and political clout. Mizruchis sobering assessment of the dissolution of Americas business class helps explain the polarization and gridlock that stifle U.S. politics.ReviewA striking interpretation of our present economic and political plight. Mark Mizruchi sees many of our problems nested in the dissolution of the ruling business elite that exercised a moderating influence from World War II to the 1970s. Counterintuitive, impeccably researched, closely argued, and depressingly on target. (Charles Perrow, Yale University )This book will become a seminal contribution to our understanding of the nature and transformation of the U.S. corporate elite over the past century. (Richard Lachmann, University At Albany, State University Of New York )Mizruchi shows that in the postwar years, corporate leaders, whatever their weaknesses, put their heads together when the going got tough and came up with political solutions. The system was not altogether democratic, but it resulted in effective problem solving, and a means of bringing the powerful together to pursue the nations common goals. That system has fallen apart. This captivating story, told with fluidity and grace, provides a compelling explanation for todays failure of political ingenuity and compromise. (Frank Dobbin, Harvard University )[Mizruchi] claims that business has abdicated responsibility for developing and advocating practical solutions to national, as opposed to purely sectional, interests. His view will perhaps come as a shock to those accustomed to the ideological divides of our current political landscape. Mizruchi shows how, in the past, businesses had been prepared to cooperate with both government and labor organizations in the common pursuit of national objectives. (Kirkus Reviews 20130315) About the AuthorMark S. Mizruchi is Barger Family Professor of Organizational Studies and Professor of Sociology and Business Administration at the University of Michigan.