Papers presented by Pamela Laird since 2019

2024 Providence, Rhode Island

"Corruption and the Array of Publics"

Abstract:

Henry Clay Frick was quite certain that his suppression of the 1892 strike at Homestead Steel Works was appropriate. As he assured Andrew Carnegie, “I cannot see where we have made any serious blunders, or done anything that was not proper and right.” To no surprise, some interpreted his actions otherwise. In the midst of the strike, the Detroit Free Press referred to “the rule of corruption and favoritism” at Frick’s command. Thinking about what is “proper” or “corrupt” may yield merely black and white answers to whether or not a business operates in “the public interest.” We can get past a straightforward contrast of simple assessments, such as these reactions to the Homestead crisis, by applying social capital as a prism-like analytical tool. Just as a prism splits white light into its component colors, looking at businesses’ publics through a social capital lens splits “the public” into an array of its components. The people within each of those components share experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives that can nurture trust and cooperation among themselves. Conversely, some of those shared perspectives can also foster distrust and antagonism with outsiders. Thinking in terms of social capital and multiple publics can be especially useful in exploring questions about corruption. Observers generally agree that corruption in one or another form occurs when someone or some group deviates from normative standards in pursuit of its own gains at the expense of others. However, some may see as corrupt what others see as “proper and right.” Parsing the narratives told during the Homestead crisis illustrates how actors justified their actions and attitudes according to their social capital loyalties, determining that the others’ actions and attitudes damaged an idealized “public” and were, therefore, corrupt.

2022 Mexico City

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