It seems like the obvious way to go at Dartmouth. When asked to think about what a typical Dartmouth student does after graduation, the image that my mind instantly conjures up is that of a young corporate recruit rapidly making his or her way towards Wall Street. And the evidence is definitely there. Come fall, corporate recruiting season will start and we'll all be witnesses to the neatly suited individuals trying their luck at the recruiting game. Even though this process is a visible and accepted part of Dartmouth, I can't help but notice the prevalence of the sentiments that going through corporate recruiting is equivalent to "selling your soul," to wasting your talents, to becoming mindless corporate slaves. And I, for one, have never really understood this mindset.
I think ultimately it's a question of values. Corporate life is seen as a life without values, a life that is centered around the creation of wealth. When you think of "corporations," you think of huge, heartless companies that trample on the lives and needs of the underprivileged -- anything to make a buck, really. Working in the corporate world is not seen as doing anything of value -- you're automatically assumed to be a money-hungry cold-hearted power-crazed individual. And while all this is probably true of many corporations and employees of the corporate world, is it really fair to make such a gross generalization?
I like to think that I value all professions. I value teachers because they are the ones who mold the delicate minds of our children. I value doctors because they hold the power to heal. I value researchers because they discover the secrets of our universe. I value historians because they teach us about our past and consequently, about ourselves. At the same time, I value those who run the big corporations and the banks and the stock markets because without these people, none of the other things would be possible.
Think about it -- the way our world is organized, economics is the underlying constraint for all endeavors. Whether you like it or not, money is important. No matter how grand your dreams are, the realization of those dreams will require financing at some point or another. I have a friend who wants to change the educational system of America -- and I'm sure one day, she'll do it, at least to the extent that is possible for one individual. But even her dreams depend on money, on the financial institutions of the country. So how can banking be any less important than teaching?
It's more than just a question of money though -- money is just a tool, a medium to exchange value for value. I respect those who create something that matters " like writers who create beautiful prose or painters who create beautiful paintings or teachers who create the next generation of eager students. I also respect CEOs -- yes, that's right, CEOs, who have recently received quite a bit of bad press. I respect CEOs that create a company and shape its future. Think about Henry Ford or Bill Gates -- you might hate Ford cars or Microsoft software, but you can't refuse to acknowledge their creativity and vision.
What you hear in the news is true -- there definitely is corruption in the corporate world. But show me one profession for which this is not true. Wherever there is money and power, corruption will follow -- just look at our legal and political system, for example. So the problems are not isolated to corrupt CEOs. It just happens that these cases have received a lot of widespread press recently. Money is not the sole evil in this equation -- it has just been corrupted by greed and jealousy and dissipation. Money has long been the scapegoat for a lot of humanity's problems, which is responsible for its bad reputation. But I respect money -- like the author Ayn Rand said, the creation of wealth is the creation of value and that is something to be respected.
It all boils down to a matter of respect. Just as I respect teachers and historians and writers and doctors, I expect to be respected even if I become a "corporate slave." It does not mean that I'm selling my soul or compromising my values or wasting my life doing something meaningless. I want to change the world, too -- I'm just going to do it my way. So I guess, the next time you see people dressed up in suits, nervously walking through Novack, think before mentally disparaging them. But if I were you, I'd still laugh in their faces for looking so ridiculous.
