Investigative journalism became a romantic calling, with the name of the game being to catch greedy corporations in the act of polluting the water, gouging consumers, and exploiting workers. On television and in the movies, business executives increasingly became the villains, who were challenged by heroic lawyers, policemen, reporters, and activists. In a study of the hundred highest-grossing films, researchers found that nearly nine of 10 business characters were portrayed positively before 1965, but two of three were portrayed negatively thereafter. After 1975, the proportion of negative business characters rose to three of four. Compare the Cartwrights of the 1960s to the Ewings of the 1980s and you get the general point.
Public sentiment is influenced by what people read and what they see.
By 1975, the trend lines had reversed, with more Americans calling profits excessive than reasonable. But by 1994, more Americans thought the interests of the two groups clashed rather than coincided. Advocates of so-called corporate social responsibility believe that corporations have aduty to look beyond profit and serve society. In reality, the American corporation is a phenomenally successful social institution precisely because of its focus on profit. Most new drugs for curing disease and alleviating pain come from the private sector, not the government.