History of Great American Business
History of Great American Business
America is a society that has grown from the roots of money. Its entire history is evidence of this fact. During the course of its existence, great concentrations of wealth have been accumulated. To criticize these billionaires, tarnish their success, labels like “robber barons” have been used. These denigration serves only as proof of their success. Contrarily, these businessmen were captains of business, industrial statesmen and pillars of society who led industrialization and are responsible for creating the enormous riches of the United States of America.
The American colonies were formed as business ventures by the British. Of course, they needed settlers, who were mostly Europeans seeking political, religious and economic freedom. The most important freedom was economic, for the British who already had it rarely worried about the religious and political. America was a society of money from day one.
The basis of civilization is money, because money makes it possible to eat and to be sheltered, the basic needs of man. In any society with a currency, it is a given that some will handle their capital more responsibly than others. This success has become the American Dream, because it is possible.
Capitalism is the system that has blossomed, because it a system that takes care of itself. Merit is rewarded with wealth, and with wealth comes class. So, of course, it is a class society as well as a meritocracy. What separates capitalism from feudalism is the presence of opportunity. It is this opportunity that is valued and is vital to the growth of the economy.
Opportunity is what created the wealth of the so-called robber barons. This tag has been given to a handful of men, mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries. They have been called ruthless and immoral, but on the other hand they were the men that led the industrial revolution. Some led the economic success of the nation, some were embarrassing side effects, but nevertheless, they cannot all be painted with the same brush.
John D. Rockefeller was probably the most successful of the bunch. The visionary behind the Standard Oil empire, he built a horizontally integrated company, meaning it saw his oil through every stage of production – extraction, refining, etc. He believed in a harsh and ruthless business style, believing that it was the only way to survive in the Social Darwinist...