Business and Bureaucracy: A Limited Critique of Charles Lindblom's Politics and Markets

摘要

In a book that deals with grand issues concerning the relationship of business and the political system, Charles Lindblom finally turns in the concluding chapter of his 'Politics and Markets' to some specific recommendations. To alleviate business privilege and the ubiquitous 'business veto,' both of which impede, in Lindblom's view, the nation's ability to deal with its problems, Dr. Lindblom suggests that we take a lesson from the nation's defense sector. Defense industries, he asserts, seem willing enough to accept a high degree of government control in return for assured profits. The lesson is clear: the government can limit corporate autonomy by guaranteeing profits, even in the case of 'enterprises producing for ordinary markets rather than for government contracts'. Financial indulgence, to use Dr. Lindblom's expression, can be used to 'offset regulatory severity.'