Starving the Crocodiles

In the 19 December 2009 edition of The Economist you will find an article entitled “The Silence of Mammon.” In it the author makes the point that business needs to better defend itself from its detractors. The author presents three fairly common defenses used by the business world when attacked.

First is the “don’t judge all of us by the poor judgment shown by some of us.” Of course, that can be said of every single occupation. For example: “don’t say everyone in Congress is bad—just look at me!”

Second, some business-types say “many firms are devoted to good works.” As the author says, this “smacks of appeasement.” This suggests “business has something to apologize for, and thus encourage[s] its critics to find ever more to complain about.” And then comes the line I enjoy most: “Crocodiles never go away if you feed them.” Sounds like the government.

The third argument posited is this: “business is a force for good”; that is, ‘Wal-Mart’s ‘everyday low prices’ save Americans at least $50 billion a year.” The problem with this argument is that it only focuses on “material well-being, and so fails to engage with people’s moral qualms about business.”

There are three infinitely better defenses, according to the author.

First, business is “a remarkable exercise in cooperation.” Everyone in the business community must work together. The author writes: “companies in fact depend on persuading large numbers of people [. . .] to work together to a common end.” Trust is built. Collaboration is emphasized. Relationships must be nurtured, and companies that want to continue must work to avoid too much turbulence.

Second, business thrives on creativity. When government gets out of the way business solves all sorts of problems. Look past Snuggies, Chia Pets, and the Clapper. Think of the organizational thread that put each of these on the shelves at Wal-Mart. The author cites Nandan Nilekani, who said that [computer giant Infosys’s] “greatest achievement was not its $2 billion in annual revenue, but the fact that it had taught [people] to ‘redefine the possible.’”

Third, companies provide political balance and stability. In fact, those who argue the power of business corrupts absolutely “actually have it upside down. Companies actually prevent each other from gaining too much power, and also act as a check on the power of governments that would otherwise be running the economy.” More and more countries are aligning with a “pro-business” sentiment, and freedom begets freedom.

The author ends with a great thought. He points out that many in the business community are reluctant to make these sorts of arguments, but he warns that “they would do well to become a bit less reticent: the price of silence will be an ever more hostile public and ever more overbearing government.”

Business needs to quit feeding the crocodiles. Then the crocodiles will quite feeding on business.