The 1980s provided every reason to think all business was corrupt. The newspapers were full of articles on insider trading and Wall Street scandals. The most upsetting news was about the gross profits made by people widely described as financial parasites, people who sucked off billions of dollars through complex schemes that most people had difficulty understanding. There were junk bond crazes and hostile takeovers by financiers who broke up organizations instead of building them. Much the same picture appeared on television, in local movie theaters, and in popular magazines. Fiction, nonfiction, it was all the same: People in business are not like you. They are fundamentally immoral, and the richest are making no positive contributions to our society.

Recently we have had another great burst of business scandals. In the last few years some of the country's largest firms have collapsed as a result of corruption, leaving their shareholders, former employees, and entire communities in deep distress. This time, some of the leading firms in the accounting profession have been caught up in the scandal for abandoning their watchdog role and approving the illegal practices of their corporate clients. Some of the largest banks are now paying off for their failure to alert their clients to the impending collapse of these corporations. Once again, men in powerful positions lined their own pockets while presiding over devastating collapses into bankruptcy.