--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The American businessmen, as a class…" description: "\"The American businessmen, as a class, have demonstrated the greatest productive genius and the most spectacular achievements ever recorded in the econo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/ayn-rand-59_achievement_the-american-businessmen-as-a-class-have_1519750.jpg" --- # The American businessmen, as a class, have demonstrated… ![“The American businessmen, as a class, have demonstrated the greatest productive genius and the most spectacular achievements ever recorded in the economic history of mankind. What reward did they receive from our culture and its intellectuals? The position of a hated, persecuted minority. The…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/ayn-rand-59_achievement_the-american-businessmen-as-a-class-have_1519750.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/ayn-rand-59_achievement_the-american-businessmen-as-a-class-have_1519750.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/ayn-rand-59_achievement_the-american-businessmen-as-a-class-have_1519750.jpg) > “The American businessmen, as a class, have demonstrated the greatest productive genius and the most spectacular achievements ever recorded in the economic history of mankind. What reward did they receive from our culture and its intellectuals? The position of a hated, persecuted minority. The position of a scapegoat for the evils of the bureaucrats.” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It critiques how society often vilifies successful entrepreneurs, casting them as scapegoats despite their achievements. **In simple terms:** Successful people are sometimes unfairly blamed. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge unfair societal narratives. Themes success societal perception scapegoating Mood critical analytical questioning Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - business leadership - public policy - media analysis - education Key Concepts economic history culture intellectuals Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies create scapegoats? - What can be done to honor achievement without resentment? A Different Perspective The claim may overgeneralize and ignore varied individual experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [American business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-business/) [Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Businessman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessman/) [Businessmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessmen/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Economic history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-history/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Minorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minorities/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Scapegoat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scapegoat/) ## Related quotes > [American businessmen have taken advantage of the opportunities which existed in Europe and Europeans seem not to have been aware of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilio-pucci/american-businessmen-have-taken-advantage-of-the-opportunities-which/) [Emilio Pucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilio-pucci/) > [Accuse American businessmen of being responsible for radicalism and they would indignantly deny the accusation. 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It was the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-navarro/the-defining-moment-in-american-economic-history-is-when-bill-clinton/) [Peter Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-navarro/) > [Economic history is a never-ending series of episodes based on falsehoods and lies, not truths. It represents the path to big money. The object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/economic-history-is-a-never-ending-series-of-episodes-based-on/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [“For the first time in economic history, we face an inversion with no obvious landing place. We are the generation that will live through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emad-mostaque/for-the-first-time-in-economic-history-we-face-an-inversion-with-no/) Emad Mostaque > [The best chapters in our economic history are those that embrace the many, not the few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/the-best-chapters-in-our-economic-history-are-those-that-embrace-the/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [Economic history is the most fundamental branch of history; not the most important. Foundations exist to carry better things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clapham/economic-history-is-the-most-fundamental-branch-of-history-not-the/) John Clapham > [You might say that economic history is the history of people learning to manage risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/you-might-say-that-economic-history-is-the-history-of-people-learning/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Financiers are great mythomaniacs, their explanations and superstitions are those of primitive men; the world is a jungle to them.They perceive acutely that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/financiers-are-great-mythomaniacs-their-explanations-and/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [I'm someone who can create critiques of individuals based on their economic history. That's one way I look at people in terms of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-sachs/i-m-someone-who-can-create-critiques-of-individuals-based-on-their/) [Ira Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-sachs/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The American businessmen, as a class, have demonstrated the greatest productive genius and the most spectacular achievements ever recorded in the economic history of mankind. What reward did they receive from our culture and its intellectuals? The position of a hated, persecuted minority. 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