Engaging Strangers by Monti Daniel J. Jr.;

Author:Monti, Daniel J., Jr.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Tocqueville on the Civic Role of Business

Without really recognizing it, most scholars and commentators have been parroting what Alexis de Tocqueville said about business almost two hundred years ago. Tocqueville, a great admirer of the way Americans formed associations to do their civic homework, was not ambivalent about business so much as he was of two minds. There were times when he seemed ready to accept businesses into the fraternity of civic associations. For instance, he argued that when men meet and join together to start a commercial venture they will “by degrees . . . become familiar with the principle of association.” On other occasions, he seemed more wary of business people, suggesting that they did not share much of what they knew about public life with their workers. It is this latter view that scholars generally came to embrace, going so far today as to argue that business people want to charge us for the very public space we walk through.[32]

In the case of Boston, we see hints of legends and theories about the up and mostly down sides of business in real-life stories of corporate beneficence and profit making. It certainly was in Macy’s best interest to ingratiate itself to people in the city after replacing one of Boston’s favorite department stores. Moreover, every company that provides summer jobs for inner-city youths curries favor with elected officials that would rather see teenagers working than in trouble. The same thing might be said of universities that set aside scholarships every year for local youngsters who otherwise could not attend expensive schools like the ones in Boston.

There may be some good that eventually comes back to the Red Sox when it donates tickets to children for reading books or provides athletic equipment or even new fields for teenagers to play baseball on. It makes sense for the team to open up the stadium so that adults that want to adopt a child are brought together with children that want to be adopted. It is probably also good for business to sell tickets to a Father’s Day event where children run all over the field and the proceeds go to charity.[33] In Boston, it is a big deal to visit Fenway Park and a bigger one to play on it.

What we are inclined to miss or at least overlook in these stories is just how much it means for business people to have roots in this city or at least in the neighborhood where their business is located. People are actually proud to be from Boston and usually not shy about bragging about the neighborhood in Boston where their business was founded and may still be. They are also proud about what they have built on that piece of Boston and not reluctant to give something back to the city when they have the money to do so.

A good example of this pride and dedication to the city is seen in what the family foundation that received over $400 million from the sale of the Boston Red Sox several years ago did with some of the money.

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