Word: rigidness
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Should corporations firmly pursue affirmative action? Yes, if they make special efforts to consider qualified members of minority groups as well as women for almost every job and promotion; but no, if they set rigid quotas that compromise efficiency, dilute the meritocracy and grossly discriminate against whites...
Critics and champions alike once recognized capitalism's remarkable vitality and adaptability, but those qualities seem to be declining. Says Stanford Economist Tibor Scitovsky: "The joints of that once wonderfully flexible structure are becoming more and more calcified and rigid...
...information necessary to tell the would-be entrepreneur to open a new corner carry-out or Revlon to launch a new Charlie. No plan could foresee the economic effects of the overnight success of some new Xerox or IBM. Modern industrialized economics are far too complex to permit a rigid master plan. The state can provide its fallible view of future economic developments, but the best planning is still provided by private businessmen and -women making decisions on the basis of the information they receive from consumers in the marketplace...
When capitalism took root in the 18th century, religion exercised a strong influence within a rigid social structure. The principles of the new economic system coincided in large measure with those of religious faith. Free enterprise demanded sacrifice and delayed satisfaction in order to build savings as a source of investment funds. Limited consumption and hard work were required to create more capital and more consumption for the future. Self-denial and individual diligence in this life were signs of someone's virtue and even of salvation in the next life. Max Weber labeled this "the Protestant ethic...
Within this rigid constraint, the actors deliver mannered performances that are in several cases impeccable. David Cort, as the evil brother who engineers the Duchess' downfall, is unremittingly sinister. A Cardinal with a Borgia-like disregard for the moral teachings of the Church, he covets the wealth of his sister, a young widow, and cold-bloodedly arranges her excommunication and then her death. The Cardinal seduces and discards young women, betrays his brother, an ally in the conspiracy against the duchess, and is finally himself assassinated. The audience applauds when the Cardinal dies: Cort's portrayal allows for no sympathy...