President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today-that business institutions have more prestige（威望） in American society than any other kind of organization,including the government.
Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society.Since competition is seen as the. major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected.Competition is not only good in itself. it is the means (by) which other basic American value such as individual freedom,equality of opportunity and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one all-powerful government，many businesses compete against each other for profits Theoretically, if one business tries to. take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast often made between business,which is competitive,and government, which is a monopoly, Because business is competitive,many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe,then,that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy（民主）in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic(贵族的)ideal of inherited privilege.
【小题1】The statement “The business of America is business” probably means ________.| A．America is a great power in world business |
| B．Business is of primary concern to Americans |
| C．The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce |
| D．Business problems are of great importance to the American government |
| A．by protecting their individual freedom | B．when given equality of opportunity |
| C．by way of competition | D．through doing business |
| A．People with ideals of equality and freedom. | B．Both business institutions and government. |
| C．Honest business | D．Both businessmen and their customers. |
| A．in many countries success often depends on one’s social status |
| B．businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America |
| C．American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries |
| D．Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries |
