ABSTRACT
By the end of the twenties, challenges to the large corporation, the main catalyst for corporate social responsibility had withered. The Depression triggered a number of movements and events that kept the business community worried for much of the decade. Most businesses suffered during the Depression, especially the early years. But with greater assets to draw upon, larger corporations were in a much better position to ride out the storm of price cuts necessitated by the contraction of consumer demand. By the end of the Depression decade, it was clear that the large corporation had more than weathered the storm. In fact, its place in the US economy had actually improved, as measured by the concentration of corporate assets. The job instability experienced during the Depression also compounded the problems experienced by workers in industries that only offered seasonal employment. The case of GE supports the conventional wisdom that welfare capitalism was significantly weakened by the Depression.
