考研英语作文 Business in American(美国的商业)

Business in American

     President Coolidge’s statement, "The business of America  is  business," still points to an important truth today- that business institutions have more prestige in American society than any other kind of organizations, 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 most Americans see competition as the major source of progress and prosperity, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.

     Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly 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’ dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.

     Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the idea 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. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic idea of inherited privilege.

美国的商业

    柯立芝总统曾说过：“美国的事就是商业的事。”这句话如今还在表达着一个重要的真理，即在美国社会商业机构比其他任何机构包括政府，都享有更高的威望。为什么商业机构会有如此高的威望呢?

    原因之一是美国人认为商业是以竞争的理想为基础的，它的立场比社会其他机构要坚定。  由于大部分美国人把竞争看成是进步和财富的主要源泉，提倡竞争的商业机构自然受到了尊重。竞争不仅本身是件好事，而且是保护个人自由、机会均等、勤奋工作等基本美国价值观的手段。

    竞争通过保证没有权力垄断来保护个人的自由。和一个权力至高无上的政府相比，许多企业为了利润相互竞争。从理论上讲，一个企业如果采取不公正的手段欺骗顾客，势必会输给对待顾客更为公正的竞争对手。只要有很多行业为赚取顾客的钱而相互竞争，那么他们就不能把顾客看成低人一等的人或奴隶。

    人们还认为商业上的竞争还有利于加强机会均等的观念。竞争被视为一场公开公正的赛跑，成功属于跑得最快的人，不管胜者的社会地位和背景如何。通过竞争取得成功被视为美国人用以取代以家庭背景为基础的社会地位的另一种选择。因此，商业被视为表达了机会均等这一观念，而不是特权世袭的贵族思想。