Business

The United States is, more than anything else, a business society. Although millions of U.S. citizens participate daily in religious worship, governance, national defense, schooling, leisure, and sports, no activity more thoroughly defines U.S. culture and U.S. institutions than the quest for entrepreneurial and corporate success. Office buildings—not cathedrals or (outside of Washington, DC) great civic structures—dominate urban skylines. Suburbs are honeycombed with strips of small stores and air-conditioned office modules. Even the countryside bears abundant evidence of the business impulse, from “agribusiness” corporate farms to modest roadside vegetable stands. Even ostensibly non-business preoccupations, such as those mentioned, are infused with business practices and business sensibilities. Many churches are now housed in shopping malls (for better “spillover” traffic) and funded by aggressive, televised fundraising; government and national defense increasingly are “outsourced” to private-sector subcontractors; public schools are under increasing pressure to perform like their private counterparts; and, of course, much of sports, leisure, and entertainment is big business.

Business came to dominate U.S. society in large measure because of the nature and public image of its leaders. More than that, U.S. business leaders historically have defined a great deal of U.S. culture and institutions. During some periods business leaders have stood at the apex of power and respectability, whereas during other periods the general reputation of the business community, along with the personal reputations of some of the most prominent figures in business, has fallen into disrepute. However, whether celebrated or derided in the headlines and opinion polls, business leaders have never been far from the center of power and influence in U.S. history. Indeed, according to many authorities, they have never left that center.

A historical perspective on U.S. business reveals dramatic changes in the styles and methods of business leadership, as well as some notable continuities.