Too Big

Too Big
By Morris L. Ernst

2000/09 - Beard Books - Business Classic
1587980606 - Paperback - Reprint - 332 pp.
US$34.95

Contrary to the many who praise the efficiency and economy of bigness, it is argued here that bigness is not inherently evil but it can destroy individual and social values.

Publisher Comments

Category: Bankruptcy & Restructuring

This title is part of the Business Histories list.

Of Interest:

Too Big to Fail-Olympia & York: The Story Behind the Headlines

On a topic as controversial sixty years ago as it is today, this famous lawyer echoes the thesis of Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis: that the pursuit of size as a symbol of success is ruinous to our society, paints a fascinating picture of the future of man while positing that sheer bigness can lead to the depreciation of humanity. The condemnation of bigness in certain forms and under certain circumstances does not mean the endorsement of an inefficient, ineffective one-man operation. Rather, the theory presented in this book is that, in a democracy, the economic and pragmatic mean must be found for every type of business, for government, and for other organizations. While there is no inherent evil in mere size, and while some businesses, such as utilities, need to be vast in order to function effectively, there is a point beyond which further expansion results not only in a loss of profit and capital, but in the destruction of individual and social values.

No book reviews available

Morris Leopold Ernst was born in 1888 in Uniontown. He received his B.A. in 1909 from Williams College, and then proceeded to earn his LL.B. in 1912 from New York Law School. He was admitted to New York Bar in 1913, and after being a treasurer, bookkeeper and salesman, started to practice law in 1915 specializing in labor, tax, libel and censorship. He held several government posts: special assistant to U.S. Attorney General; personal representative of Franklin Roosevelt abroad during World War II; member of Harry Truman's Civil Rights Commission.

Member of the American Civil Liberties Union, American Political Science Association, American Bar Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Gamma Delta.

He died in in 1976.

	Foreword	vii
	Prelude	xi
I	The Biggest Show on Earth	3
II	Cats and Dogs	14
III	Enough Rope	27
IV	Big Steel	48
V	Lords and Laborers	68
VI	Black Diamonds	82
VII	Nickels and Dimes	97
VIII	Fire, Theft--and Burglary	112
IX	Supercolossal	132
X	The Staff of Life	161
XI	Small Straws and Big Winds	180
XII	The Inventive Mind--Big or Small	197
XIII	Dollars and Cents	207
XIV	The Cities We Live In	233
XV	And How About the Government?	252
XVI	We, the People, Have the Power	281
XVII	The Expansion of True Democracy	291
	Appendices	297
	Index	303

home | about us | contact us | related sites