What does this all mean for corporate employees? This is nothing more than a brainwashing movement supported and funded by corporate titans and bankers to keep employees happily working at the � ���"grindstone� �� � while filling the coffers of the elite. Consider this, we find the thinking of Ayn Rand intertwined with positive thinkers and happiness gurus. Followers of the late Ayn Rand are found in large numbers among bankers and corporate executives and this fits neatly into the positive thinkers and happiness ideology. These Randians or objectivists, as they liked to be called, believe that any encroachment by government into the free market system is a recipe for disaster, except when they screw up - then it's OK to get a bailout. It's a perfect world. Their rationalizations boggle the mind. While accepting the federal bailout they go so far as to conclude that the 2008 financial crisis is the direct result of government interference and regulation. They also believe:
Altruism is destructive
Redistribution of wealth is bad
Self-interest/selfishness is good
This philosophy (if one could call it that) is not only preached throughout the corporate world, it formed the basis for how the Federal Reserve and the American government operated for many years. This was recently borne out when Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Chairman from 1987 to 2006, and a long time disciple of Rand, told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that past decisions and the lack of government regulations helped pave the way for the current financial crisis. He angered Randians when he acknowledged that his libertarian (he did not use the term Randian) view of markets and the financial world had not worked out so well. "You know," he told the legislators, "that's precisely the reason I was shocked, because I have been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well." While Greenspan did defend his various decisions, he admitted that his faith in the ability of free and loosely-regulated markets to produce the best outcomes had been shaken: "I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms." After more than 40 years an admission by one Randian that her philosophy not only does not work but was responsible for the financial crisis and the loss of millions of jobs. In spite of this, corporate titans still pitch the Randian belief system to their employees because it will enhance their wealth. There is no better example of this than John Allison the CEO of BB&T, America's 11th largest bank, who gives all his new executives a copy of Rand's � ���"Atlas Shrugged� �� � and new employees receive a 30 page pamphlet based on the company's Randian philosophy and values (Martin, 2009). In 2009 he resigned his CEO position, (he remained as chairman) to travel the country condemning government interference and he took a position at Wake Forest University's business school. By the way in 2008, his bank, BB&T, received a $3.1 bailout from the government (TARP). In addition BB&T spends $5 million to finance teaching positions and research on Rand. And of course they collectively deny any responsibility for the financial crisis. We now see colleges and universities fighting for the opportunity to teach their undergraduates the wonders of an almost perfect immorality.
We not only see an underlying connection between the Randians, positivists thinkers and happiness gurus spreading their ideas in corporations, banks and government but we also see a bizarre unholy alliance between the Christian Free Enterprise evangelists and the Randian atheists. While the Christian Free Enterprisers would most likely not accept Rand's position that Jesus devoted his life in an erroneous attempt to help a bunch of losers, they would suggest something akin to Ronald Reagan's � ���"trickle down� �� � theory that maintains one should be free to accumulate as much wealth as one wants and those so-called losers will somehow benefit. We see the religious roots in positive thinking beginning with its founder the Reverend Norman V. Peale and this is carried forth in the studies by Robert Emmons the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology. Emmons includes religion in his happiness studies. He says that religious people are grateful and gratitude is found in religion and religious people see God as the ultimate benefactor. This is spelled out in the title of a chapter in his latest book � ���"Thanks be to God: Gratitude and the Human Spirit� �� � (Emmons, 2007).
It comes as no surprise that the � ���"right-wing� �� � ideologist's have embraced positive thinking and have used it to lambaste the � ���"Left� �� � by accusing them of being negative. The late William Safire writing for VP Spiro Agnew called Vietnam protesters � ���"nattering nabobs of negativism.� �� � President Obama was condemned by the � ���"Right� �� � as being negative when he pointed out the policy mistakes America has made in the past..
Believe it or not, there is another group, an offshoot of these positive/happiness/evangelical/Right-wing/Randians. This is a growing group of so-called organizational development consultants who preach a model of consulting based on positive thinking. They call it � ���"appreciative inquiry� �� � or � ���"AI� �� �. Following the positive thinkers their approach focuses on what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't work. It is the opposite of problem solving or critical thinking and rejects diagnosis. Narcissistic CEO's and bankers love � ���"AI� �� � because it never considers inadequacies, blame, or the need for remedial skills or practice. They preach a � ���"you can do it if you just believe you can� �� � attitude that claims if one builds on successes, strengths, and focuses on how to create more exceptional performance than one need not understand what is � ���"broken� �� � or dysfunctional..
These � ���"AI� �� � consultants, � ���"positive thinking� �� � preachers, and � ���"happiness� �� � coaches entered the financial corporations in the early 1990's and told managers and executives just what they wanted to hear. They were told to be positive, dismiss trouble and critical analysis. They were selling blind optimism and bankers were buying. Gurus and motivational speakers told executives, managers and bankers to be successful � ���"go for it� �� �, � ���"you deserve success� �� �, � ���"negativity is for losers� �� � and have a � ���"yes attitude� �� �. This type of thinking feeds into the development and maintenance of narcissistic cultures and what Ehrenreich and others maintain led to the financial crisis of 2008. They claim that financial executives, influenced by these gurus and coaches, took extraordinary risks and avoided caution, and engaged in behaviors that went beyond the boundaries of good business practice. These � ���"success gurus� �� � sold a delusion that success comes when one wills it. The � ���"go for it� �� � mentality is the equivalent of saying its OK to be greedy, you deserve it. Narcissistic corporate cultures brought in these gurus, consultants, and motivational speakers for two reasons. First, they needed to justify their behavior of greed, selfishness, and the fact the millions were loosing their jobs as executives got rich. Just as the compensation consultants obtained fat fees for suggesting outrageous compensation for CEO's, these consultants and coaches told executives they deserved to be rich and were handsomely paid for their advice. Secondly, consultants, motivational speakers and coaches were used to pump up employees. Based on the flimsy notion put forth by Tal D. Ben Shalar, the Harvard happiness professor, who maintains that if a traumatic experience could create a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than an exceedingly positive, euphoric event could create a happy joyful employee. As a result we witnessed the meteoric growth of corporate � ���"pep rallies,� �� � or what some called � ���"brainwashing events.� �� �
Pumping up Employees- � ���"Smile or your fired� �� �
What do Wall Street bankers and retail giants like Wal Mart and Home Depot have in common? They both embrace this mixture of Randian, positive thinking, happiness ideology as well as free enterprise fundamentalist philosophy that seeks to maintain traditional male and female sex roles where men are the conquerors and heroic hunters (in this case wealth accumulation). Executives stage major corporate events that become celebrations of Christian manliness by emphasizing power, correctness, and dominance over all things, especially women. The pep rally in and of itself is a masculine activity. Like a football pep rally, the warriors are celebrated as they go off to battle and women are turned into submissive cheerleaders in skimpy outfits. At these corporate rallies they hear inspirational speeches from military heroes, celebrity professors, gurus, positive consultants and retired billionaires. They use an array of techniques to foster a collective or mass psychology by putting employees through a variety of exercises or activities where they visualize themselves as successful, instill a passion to be successful, and tell them if they � ���"will it,� �� � they will be wealthy. They complete happiness questionnaires and are told to memorize and follow certain steps that will make them happy. They sing, clap, cheer, laugh, yell and cry. They are told that being a happy and eager follower is � ���"servant leadership� �� � and a good Christian value. They rally around corporate slogans � ���"You can do it� �� � � ���"We can do it� �� �, � ���"You can have it your way� �� �, � ���"It's up to you� �� �, � ���"Just do it� �� �, � ���"It's up to you� �� �, etc. Psychologically they merge their self system with the corporation and its leadership. They become children of the corporation and if the event is successful they become children of a cult. Employees identify with their corporate executives and in the process want their leaders to have wealth and privilege. Under these conditions leaders can do no wrong. If the company falters it is not the system or leaders who are responsible, it is the employees. They are the problem because they are not working harder.
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