The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 OBJECTIVITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 203objective and I am willing to beheld· accountable for their ultimateaccuracy.My belief arises not from a fearthat the business community is incapableof meeting our nation'sdemands for energy and otherbasic natural resources. Rather, itstems from a recognition that ourcritics, if not questioned and heldaccountable for false or. misleadingcriticism, will divert business,government and the public fromthe pursuit of a common purpose.Now what can we do about thisstate of affairs?Come Out FightingFirst: Come out fighting for acause you believe to be just andfair. Recently, I attended a tradeassociation meeting to considerthe response to charges of a prominentmember of Congress whichbore no relationship to uncontrovertedfacts. I was astounded thatnot one of many outstanding businessleaders present would risk anopen fight. When top level managementis so afraid to stand on aplatform of truth, how can you expectone of your juniors to riska black eye?This whole philosophy of lowprofile must be discarded and thebusiness community must standup, fight back ltnd lead. Conditionswon't turn around overnight. Therewill be some stitches and suturesapplied, but your critic will beginto think twice before he playsloosely with the facts once he getsnailed to the cross.Second: Mr. Roalman, VicePresident of CNA Financial Corporation,in a recent article on"Why Business Is Losing ItsCase" said that, "managementneeds to go more often into thearena. Too often, top managementconfines itself to talking to itsboards of directors, its peers andtrade-related people. Its effortsmiss, grossly, most Congressmen,legitimate consumerist-critics,young people and the bulk of theeducational community." Of courseit's important to communicate withour boards and industry people,but such talk alone will not wrestlewith and resolve criticism beingleveled in classrooms, on thestreets and in the press. That'swhere the action is and we can nolonger ignore it.See the ReporterThird: I'll never cease to beamazed why most business executivesfeel that a friendly luncheonwith the publisher of a newspaperor president of a T. V. networkwill solve our problems. A story iscreated and subjective feelings expressedat the typewriter levelthereporter. Industry must openup its doors, its knowledge, its experienceand facts to this young