Despite idealistic notions to the contrary, kinship developed primarily as a means of survival

Cynical observers have always been fond of pointing out that business leaders who extol the virtues of democracy on ceremonial occasions would be the last to think of applying them to their own organizations. To the extent that this is true, however, it reflects a state of mind that is by no means peculiar to businesspeople but characterizes all Americans, if not perhaps all citizens of democracies.

A version of this article appeared in the September–October 1990 issue of Harvard Business Review.