The fracturing of the American corporate elite / Mark S. Mizruchi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mizruchi, Mark S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Corporations--Political aspects--United States--History.

Corporations.

Chief executive officers--United States--History.

Chief executive officers.

Business and politics--United States--History.

Business and politics.

Social responsibility of business--United States--History.

Social responsibility of business.

United States--Social policy.

United States.

United States--Economic policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (384 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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. Today's corporate elite is a fragmented, ineffectual group that is unwilling to tackle the big issues, despite unprecedented wealth and political clout. Mizruchi's sobering assessment of the dissolution of America's business class helps explain the polarization and gridlock that stifle U.S. politics.

Contents:

Introduction

The rise of the American corporate elite

The state and the economy

Labor as uneasy partner

The banks as mediators

The breakdown of the postwar consensus

Winning the war, but losing the battle: the fragmentation of the American corporate elite

The aftermath

The ineffectual elite.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674075382

0674075382

9780674075368

0674075366

OCLC:

1011446943