ch.14 sct.3 C.T.#3

I think 19-century tycoons are best described as effective captains of industry, although a lot of what they did was ruthless.
Their management tactics and business strategies, although a bit harsh, were very effective. Rockefeller payed his employees very low wages, which wasn't nice, but it DID help his company get rich. Forming a trust may have interfered with free trade, but it was smart, and once he controlled the competition, he got lots of money by raising the prices that people had to pay (p.449). These tycoons did interfere with "free trade," especially with the smaller businesses, but they helped create copetition that led to more development. According to the Social Darwinism theory, they also helped the economy rid itself ofthe weaker businesses (p.448). The tycoons had a ruthless, but effective attitude toward competition. They would use tactics to grow larger than other companies, then buy the smaller companies (p.448-449). Once they had bought the other company, they would offer jobs to the people from the old company, which wasn't "nice" (rubbing it in their faces), but it was a smart business move. The tycoon would eliminate its competition of other companies, but then encourage competition among his assistants, as Carnegie did (p.448). Although the tycoons of the 19th century were pretty ruthless, they were very effective captains of industry.