CEOs: Why They're So Unloved

How the mighty have fallen. The cultural perception of the CEO in America has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Heroes to millions in the '90s, CEOs are increasingly seen as villains. Once they were lionized as larger-than-life generators of wealth for the many or creators of wondrous new technologies. Now they are portrayed as exploiters of the system who are out for themselves. Even the President has felt the need to chastise CEOs about the need for responsibility. Enron, it appears, has tarred the entire managerial class.

The truth, however, is that most CEOs are neither heroes nor villains. They are managers of increasingly complex organizations acting according to incentives that are fairly proscribed. They work within the business cycle, as do investors and consumers. They operate within a global economy, as do investors and consumers. Most Americans are willing to concede these points.