Here is the first installment in the 2009 series of monthly enrichment activities and lesson extension suggestions tied to the 12 lessons of the Apostles & Markets binder. They are offered here as updates to the original A&M lessons, but may also be used independently, as single lesson plans for one or two class periods. Each one will incorporate a principle from Catholic social doctrine combined with economic analysis applied to a contemporary issue.
1. Lesson Description: Students are asked to think about similarities between competitive sports celebrated at school pep assemblies, and business competition in the free economy. Competitive sports have heroic overtones based on individual or team striving aimed at overcoming obstacles and solving problems. Competition in sports can produce beneficial results for school spirit and prestige. Similarly, what might be called heroic competition in commerce based on efficiency and price reductions can generate new wealth and improved standards of living that serve the common good. Students consider Biblical passages on wealth and work, as well as a tale from American business history illustrating commercial ‘heroic competition.’ An alternative business strategy has been to avoid competition through government subsidies and regulation.
2. Lesson Rationale: Competition between athletes can improve the physical skills and mental commitment needed to do win in a given sport. Competition between sellers can increase efficient use of scarce resources and generate more opportunities to generate wealth. We celebrate competition as heroic in the context of sports, but less so in the context of commerce. Furthermore, because it is hard, competition has been avoided by some business decision-makers in American history who wanted to escape the demands of its rigorous discipline.
3. References: The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, 1990, Editors Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S. J., and Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm.; The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America, Burton W. Folsom; Wikipedia.
4. Religious/Ethical Ideas: Wealth exists to be shared. Wealth is created in a free economy through entrepreneurship and competition. Wealth is not considered an evil in itself. There is no class dimension in God’s plan of salvation; salvation is the hope of rich and poor alike.
5. Economic Ideas: Competition means trying to influence consumers’ preferences for more of this and less of that. Competition encourages efficient use of scarce resources. Competition is based on a Latin root that means individuals or groups “striving together” to accomplish a goal. Competition among transcontinental railroads in 19th century America encouraged James J. Hill to lower fares and increase wealth, while many of his competitors pursued government assistance through subsidies.
6. Procedure: Introduce the lesson by asking students the following questions: We celebrate athletic striving at pep rallies before competitive contests. Do we also celebrate competitive striving before commercial contests? Why or why not? What are some positive and negative results tied to sports and business competition? In what ways might competition be heroic?
Develop the lesson by asking students to read the Bible stories of the rich young man, the reference to it being harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to get through the eye of a needle, and the parable of the laborers in the vineyard in Chapters 19 and 20 of the Gospel of Matthew. After they have finished reading these passages have them view the following three quotes from The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Discuss the meanings and interpretations of the passages with students for a few minutes.
(on ‘the rich young man’ passage; Matthew 19:16-30) “Riches pose spiritual dangers because crime is sometimes involved in gaining them; and, once possessed, they can distract one from God, cut us off from others, and lead to exploitation and oppression. But they can also be used to do much good.” p. 662-3.
(on the ‘camel through the eye of needle’ passage; Matthew 19:16-30) “Hope is held out for the salvation of the rich through the primacy of the divine initiative. The rich are ultimately not saved in a way different from others. p. 663.
(on the ‘parable of the laborers in the vineyard’ passage; Mattew 20:1-16) “The boss hires at 6 a.m., 9, 12, 3 p.m. and 5…. The wage is just but unspecified…. They want to work but suffer the curse of unemployment; their idleness is not identical with laziness. Work is here viewed as more honorable than doing nothing. … The wage is the same, yet it is not truly equal because the boss is more generous to the latecomers. Did he count their intention to work?… The householder [boss] commits no injustice. 14. take what is yours: This reflects a classic definition of justice: to render to each his own, his due. 15. generosity: The reversal of fortunes is attributed to the generosity and goodness of God, his love for the most needy, not to any class vindictiveness.” p. 663.
Continue the lesson by telling students one of the stories in Burton W. Folsom’s book called The Myth of the Robber Barons about James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railroad. This is an example of one man’s competitive entrepreneurship and his ability to create new wealth in the later half of the 1800’s. Hill faced four transcontinental railroad competitors in The Union Pacific, the Central Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Sante Fe lines. Each of Hill’s competitors lobbied for and received federal government subsidies to build their railroads. Hill’s Great Northern Railroad, however, did not take government subsidies. Hill believed he had to do more with less because his competitors had the advantage of government assistance. He took on four formidable competitors all at once, all backed by the federal government’s assistance. Hill believed efficiency and better business strategy would make him victorious on the field of commercial competition. His privately owned railroad, the Great Northern, succeeded. By 1893, his four main competitors had all gone bankrupt despite their government subsidies.
During the direct competition with his rivals, James J. Hill in effect said to his competitors: I’ll take you all on, subsidies or no, and I’ll whup you anyway!
And that is what he did. Folsom’s book offers this evidence: 1.) Hill built his railroad with close attention to developing related markets along the routes. He promoted dry-farming to increase wheat production. He imported cattle from England and gave them away for free to settlers and ranchers along his lines. 2.) Hill attracted immigrants by offering them passage to the northwest for a mere $10 if they would farm near his railroad. 3.) Hill worked carefully with efficiency as a goal. Folsom quotes Hill: “What we want is the best possible line, shortest distance, lowest grades [up and down hills] and least curvature that we can build.” (p. 27)
Hill’s competitors followed the perverse incentives implied in government subsidies of land give aways, cash, and near monopoly status. For example, if the government subsidies rewarded more miles of track laid with more land and cash subsidies, there was little reason to build slowly and efficiently, like Hill tried to do. The result for Hill’s competitors was bankruptcy. Results for Hill’s customers and suppliers were increased income levels and expanded development opportunities.
James J. Hill was a Protestant who married a devout Roman Catholic, Mary Theresa Mehegan. Hill maintained a strong philanthropic relationship with the Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and in the northwestern part of the country. The Hills supported St. Paul Theological Seminary, Macalester College, Hamline University, the College of St. Thomas, Carleton College, and other religious and charitable organizations.
7. Conclusion: Complete the lesson by inviting students to do their own research on James J. Hill. Ask the following discussion questions: 1.) Does the possession and creation of wealth exclude an entrepreneur from going to heaven? 2.) How did James J. Hill beat his competitors in the transcontinental railroad business? 3.) What are examples of contemporary ’heroic competition?’ 4.) What are ways of celebrating heroic competition? 5. ) Arguably, James J. Hill contributed to the common good of the country through fierce, efficient competition. Is there evidence that some of his business activities may have subtracted from the common good? 6.) What can James J. Hill’s business practices in the transcontinental railroad contest teach today’s business decision-makers? 7.) Should you become a business leader, what James J. Hill lesson will you carry with you?
I enjoyed your linking of the competition of industry to that of sports. It is so interesting how our society pays athletes incredible amounts of money and has the population practicing a type of “hero-worship;” while in the economy, when businesses show competitive power whether it be through prices or buying out other companies, the population almost becomes fearful. It is this sense of healthy competition that has, to a point, driven the state of wealth to the levels we have achieved as a country. I find that double standard of thinking to be thought provoking and something to explore further out of interest.
Good points, Amanda, thanks. Some athletes are certainly highly compensated, though this might be viewed as a kind of rental payment for extraordinary talent. Few can match the performance and achievement of a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. But I think your larger point is that fierce business competition is regarded as something to be feared rather than celebrated. I certainly wouldn’t want to see a cult of personality or hero-worship emerge around business competitors, but I sure wouldn’t mind standing up and cheering their efforts on occasion, without coming off as a nut. A rare example of a celebration of business competitive success occured in the film Batman Begins of a few years ago. Bruce Wayne’s successful parents were portrayed sympathetically, as caring about the well-being of their community. How different a view from standard Hollywood depictions of business figures, like the greedy, global polluter, oil company official in the 1976 remake of King Kong. I think this “villain” gets stomped on in the end. The stomping I think says more about script writers’ assumptions about viewers’ beliefs than the reality of the benefits of business competition.
As competition used to be a form of surviving, it is now portrayed as a fun and entertaining. It is still yet a form of surviving in the world of games. We continually see the strong succeed and get by as well as those who cannot be better, but cheat and get by as well. Economically, competition is vital to the success of nations and business alike because bettering yourself is the outcome of this race. I currently am competing with my peers for a better grade for my courses and in doing so I am challenging and pushing myself to ends I never thought I would reach and there in lies the hopefulness I have for the advancement of humankind as long as competition exists.
Thanks Scott for your comment. I like how you identified the source of hopefulness of competition in striving to achieve, in your course work and, by extension, in a business enterprise. I am curious about the point made on the connection between competition and survival, and would like to learn more of how that is the case. I remember coaching cross country runners (years and years ago) not to go out and win the race, but to focus on the immediate runner ahead and to work to pass him. I liked cross country competition because it involved the intense individual striving (pass the runner immediately in front) as well as team work (scoring was based on overall placement). This suggests there is both a personal and organizational dimension to competitive success. In any case, thanks for your comment and good luck in your work!