NEW BUSINESS ETHICS

As interest in Federal and State investigations of the methods used by big corporations to shape public opinion increases day by day, and as legislatures are devoting more and more time to the question, the whole field of business ethics is placed in the limelight for either a possible revision, or a vindication of its present actions.

Under the leadership of men like Senator Borah the American people have gradually been forced to the realization that a great deal of money is being spent every year in attempting to infuse them with a definite set of ideas subconsciously through various methods. The protest has not come because of any direct activity of this nature but due to the fact that a great deal of it has been carried on underground.

This effort from a business point of view is comparatively recent and marks a shift from the attempt to find what the people want and then trying to supply it to them, to one in which the commodity, which is increasingly becoming ideas and not concrete goods, is supplied and the desire is then created for it. Over a period of the past five or ten years "big business" has been using four definite avenues of approach with the above aim in view.

The oldest, best established and most widely accepted method is through lobbying. The next step led to an effort to increase the number of small stock holders, who would naturally support the company in any conflict with the state. This also has been recognized as a sound and fair business method. The most recent efforts, however, have taken on a different form, and have been directed towards capturing public opinion. The newspapers and schools, as the most powerful mediums in this field, have felt the business man's hand in no uncertain way, and in both cases exploitation took place under cover and the facts relating to the questions have not been fully uncovered yet. The fact that the corporations active in these fields brought every possible influence to bear in attempting to prevent public investigation shows a very unhealthy attitude.

The whole question is being aired at present by the press and in the last analysis the decision as to whether such actions-shall be allowed to continue will depend largely on the attitude taken by the public.