I like to read texts written from opposing points of view, and have done so with Neoliberalism. One such book Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand's Ideas Can End Big Government presented to me an argument I copy in its entirety below. It is one of the most idiotic arguments I have ever seen. And I have taught for 20+years, so have seen some doozies in student paper. No student has ever gone this far or been this ridiculous
When Yaron [one of the authors] taught
at a university, he gave his students an entire semester to name a
recent movie in which the hero was a successful businessman. Few of
them ever were able to, although a handful of such movies do exist.
Nowadays , there’s Iron Man and we suppose The Aviator, if you
don’t count the fact that Howard Hughes was crazy. But if you want
a total nonchallenge , try to name a movie where the villain was a
businessman— we’ll wager there’s at least one playing right
now.
In 2006, the
Business & Media Institute published a study in which it
concluded that if you see a businessman on TV, he’s as likely to be
killing as he is to be making a killing.
[B] usinessmen on
TV committed more crimes than any other demographic. . . . According
to primetime TV, you are 21 times more likely to be kidnapped or
murdered at the hands of a businessman than the mob. Businessmen also
committed crimes five times more often than terrorists and four times
more often than gangs.
A different study
by the Business & Media Institute found that by age eighteen,
“the average TV viewer has seen businessmen attempt more than ten
thousand murders and countless lesser offenses, all in the name of
greed.” Asked about Hollywood’s obsession with bad guy
businessmen , former chairman of NBC Grant Tinker said, “Businessmen
deserve what they get. . . . Dammit, there is a lot of villainy in
business.”
And it’s not
just Hollywood that hates businessmen. “Few are the businessmen in
literature and drama,” observes economist Diane Coyle, “and those
there are tend to be, like Trollope’s Melmotte or Fitzgerald’s
Gatsby, either flawed characters or outright villains.” These are
just some of the symptoms of a widespread cultural phenomenon: Today,
businessmen are probably the most vilified group in America. Don
recalls watching the South Park movie some years ago in a crowded
theater. When a cartoon Bill Gates was gratuitously murdered, the
audience broke into applause. Although publicly wishing harm on a
group of Americans is generally frowned upon, we make an exception
for businessmen. Radio host Thom Hartmann, after reflecting on why
there are so few people capable of running America’s most
successful companies, concluded that only sociopaths are capable of
being CEOs . National Public Radio’s Patt Morrison declared of the
CEOs who presided over failed companies during the financial crisis
(most of whom were not accused of committing any crime), “I want
blood .” Columnist Maureen Dowd was a bit more circumspect, asking
only for “shackles” and “show trials.”
Why have
businessmen been so vilified ? It’s not for any particular evil,
real or imagined. It’s not because some may have produced shoddy
products or defrauded customers. (Political leaders have committed
crimes, enslaved nations, even slaughtered millions, and we go on
giving them more and more power.) It is, instead , because we view
businessmen as in some sense corrupt by their very nature:
Businessmen, we think, are greedy. They are driven by the selfish
pursuit of profit— they have an insatiable desire for “more”—
and we equate that with a willingness to lie, cheat, and steal .
Businessmen, we conclude, are necessarily heartless, greedy bastards
out for themselves , willing to sacrifice the welfare of employees ,
customers, friends, and orphans if it helps them make a buck.
Just think back to
the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. The hero is a
businessman—an unsuccessful businessman, whose goodwill drives him
into bankruptcy. Who is the successful businessman? It’s crotchety
old Mr. Potter, the allegedly selfish banker who revels in destroying
everyone around him, who profits ( somehow) by denying loans to the
creditworthy little guy, and who doesn’t hesitate to steal from his
competitors and send innocent men to prison. It’s a portrait that
many Americans seem to find plausible.
Brook, Yaron;
Watkins, Don (2012-09-18). Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand's
Ideas Can End Big Government (Kindle Locations 705-710). Palgrave
Macmillan. Kindle Edition.
Yes. There you have it. Since businessmen are FICTIONALLY portrayed as criminals, they are being wronged. They are victims.
I wonder if these authors complain about the lack of critical thinking ability they see in their students or new employees. And if they do, I doubt they are aware of the irony here.
I don't mind arguments I disagree with. I like to hear different points of view. Often these different views change my own perspectives. What I hate are DUMB arguments. Arguments that don't work but the speakers refuse to (or just can't) see. That bothers me because those people cannot be engaged in real debate.
