Speaker: Contemporary business firms need to
recognize that avoiding social responsibility
leads to the gradual erosion of power. This is
Davis and Blomstrom’s Iron Law of
Responsibility: “In the long run, those who do
not use power in a manner which society
considers responsible will tend to lose it.” The
law’s application to human institutions
certainly stands confirmed by history. Though
the “long run” may require decades or even
centuries in some instances, society ultimately
acts to reduce power when society thinks it is
not being used responsibly. Therefore, a
business that wishes to retain its power as long
as it can must act responsibly.
Which one of the following statements, if true, most
weakens the speaker’s argument?
(A) Government institutions are as subject to the
Iron Law of Responsibility as business
institutions.
(B) Public relations programs can cause society to
consider an institution socially responsible
even when it is not.
(C) The power of some institutions erodes more
slowly than the power of others, whether they
are socially responsible or not.
(D) Since no institution is eternal, every business
will eventually fail.
(E) Some businesses that have used power in
socially responsible ways have lost it.