September, 2004 Soundings

Aristocrats of Production. Earlier this year, Forbes magazine turned to Joel Mokyr, an economic historian at the Northwestern University, to learn which businessmen are considered to be the most influential of all time (excluding people now living). Mokyr, the author of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History as well as The Lever of Riches, came up with the following list of twenty. The accompanying descriptions are those published in Forbes (March 15, 2004).

• Matthew Boulton (1728-1809): Powered Industrial Revolution
• Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919): Carnegie's Steel Built America
• Walt Disney (1901-1966): Mega Media Blueprint
• Henry Ford (1863-1947): Democratized Transportation
• Edward H. Harriman (1848-1909): Proto-turn-around Artist
• Henry J. Kaiser (1882-19670: Fathered HMO
• Ray Kroc (1902-1984): Founding Father of Fast-Food Nation
• William Lever (1851-1925): Invented "The Brand"
• Henry Luce (1898-1967): Mass Media Pioneer
• J.P. Morgan (1837-1913): Saved Wall Street
• Alfred Nobel (1833-1896): Invented Dynamite, Holding Company
• John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937): Spawned Global Energy Company
• Meyer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812): International Finance Pioneer
• Alfred P. Sloan (1875-1966): The Perfect Organization Man
• Gerard Swope (1872-1957): Wove Capitalism's Safety Net
• Sakichi Toyoda (1867-1930): Smarter Machines Sage
• Sam Walton (1918-1992): Perfected Mass Retailing
• Thomas J. Watson Jr. (1914-1993): Wired Corporate America
• Josiah Wedgewood (1730-1795): Invented Celebrity Endorsements

Ayn Rand wrote that her philosophy held productive achievement to be man's noblest activity, and, by that standard, the men named above are the true nobility of the last two and a half centuries. Forbes does itself honor by honoring them.

Turning from history to the present suggests a mention Junior Achievement's "Global Business Hall of Fame," which is housed at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. According to JA: "Visitors can learn about the lives, accomplishments and legacies of the legendary business leaders who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Historical artifacts from the companies that the Laureates led to greatness are also on display. MSI, the premier commerce museum in America is certainly a fitting locale for the Global Business Hall of Fame. Find out more about the exhibit on MSI's Web site." The inductees for 2004 were Hans W. Becherer, former chairman and CEO of Deere & Company; Edward Donley, former chairman of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; Herbert Kelleher, founder and chairman of Southwest Airlines Co,; Frank Shrontz, chairman emeritus of The Boeing Company; Robert B. Wegman, chairman Wegman Food Markets; and, in the historical category, Joseph Wharton (1826-1909), founder of Bethlehem Steel and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

Junior Achievement (JA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is: "To ensure that every child in America has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system." According to a poll released by JA on September 8, 2004, "The percentage of teens who think people who practice good business ethics are more successful than people who don't jumped to 62 percent in 2004 from 56 percent in 2003." At the same time, the organization deplores the poll's finding that "nearly one-third of teens surveyed believe that you have to 'bend the rules to succeed.'" That was certainly a considerable increase from the 20 percent who gave the same answer last year. But given the imprecision of that term "the rules," such a finding may represent nothing more than an upsurge of self-interest against arbitrary, anti-business diktats.

Also on September 8, the Tech Museum of Innovation announced the names of twenty-five laureates for 2004. Sounds good, right? Take a look at the first of laureates: Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (Diné CARE). What is Diné CARE and why is it being honored by a museum that stands for innovation and high-technology, a museum located in the heart of Silicon Valley: San José, California?

A brief "organizational history" provided by the group's Web site explains the first half of their name: "Diné is word by which the Navajo people refer to themselves. It means, roughly, 'the people.' We are a membership organization by and for the Diné, the People. . . . Our members are not only those who are leaders in their communities, but all those Diné who strive to maintain a relationship to Mother Earth based on balance and harmony. For us, membership means taking up the cause of honoring our Earth, and honoring the perspective towards our Mother Earth that has been handed down to us from our ancestors."

The organization's "About Us" section says: "Diné CARE is an all-Navajo environmental organization, based within the Navajo homeland. We strive to educate and advocate for our traditional teachings as we protect and provide a voice for all life in the Four Sacred Mountains. We promote alternative uses of natural resources that are consistent with the Diné philosophy of Beauty Way. Our main goal is to empower local and traditional people to organize, speak out and determine their own destinies."

Oh yes, the award honoring Diné CARE was sponsored by Intel.

Question: "How much of the time do you think you can trust the executives in charge of major companies in this country to do what is right—just about always, most of the time, only some of the time, hardly ever?

Source: Survey was conducted by the Los Angeles Times, March 27-March 30, 2004, and was based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,616.