Acting through joint business organizations such as the Committee for Economic Development (CED), they advocated full this site employment, accepted Keynesian economic policies (including increases in Social Security), supported massive increases in funding for education and science, and made their peace with organized labor. In short, they rejected the traditional laissez faire perspective that had characterized most businesspeople since the 19th century . The corporate leaders of that era were not liberals in an ideological sense, but they were pragmatic. Faced with a strong labor movement and a legitimate and popular government, these leaders determined that it was better to work with these institutions than to try to dismantle them. One consequence was that right-wing elements were marginalized. Dwight Eisenhower privately referred to conservative ideologues of the time as ” stupid .” When the ideologues managed to nominate one of their own for president, Barry Goldwater , in 1964, many corporations defected to the Democrats.
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Rethinking Corporate Boards: Why Companies Need ‘Board Service Providers’
Companies provide almost all the goods and services in our economy, including such professional services as accounting or law, because they offer some well-known advantages compared with sole proprietorships. For instance, providing director services as a group would allow directors to decrease individual risk in ways that are more efficient than third-party insurance. It would also allow directors to deploy experts as needed to address particular problems as they arise, just as consultancies and law firms do. Board members currently have to get expertise from outsiders hired typically by the CEO, which creates conflict-of-interest problems.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-22/rethinking-corporate-boards-why-companies-need-board-service-providers
The Breda Fallacy 