Quote by Eric Johnston

"We are too mealy-mouthed about the basic principle of our economic system. We have been intimidated by all the tirades against "bloated capitalists" and "swollen profits." We fear that the word capitalism is unpopular. So we take refuge in a nebulous phrase and talk about the "Free Enterprise System." And we even run to cover in the folds of the flag and talk about the "American Way of Life." ... We stand at a solemn parting of the ways. Our business leaders and our labor leaders want freedom. No American wants slavery. But what is the price of freedom? I say it is the capital with which to operate capitalism. The word is capitalism."

— Eric Johnston

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Businesspeople from the United States People from Washington, D.C.Episcopalians from the United States

Original Language: English

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Sources

"Your Stake in Capitalism", in Reader's Digest (February, 1943); repr. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, vol. 95, no. 167 (February 19, 1943), p. 6c. Quoted by Daniel A. Reed in the U.S. House of Representatives (February 2, 1943); Congressional Record: 78th Congress, vol. 89, pt. 9, app. (January 6 – March 27, 1943), p. a404, col. 2

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Eric Johnston

Eric Allen Johnston (December 21, 1896 – August 22, 1963) was a business owner, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, a Republican Party activist, president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and a U.S. government special projects administrator and envoy for both Democratic and Republican administrations. As president of the MPAA, he abbreviated the organization's name, convened the closed-door meeting of motion picture company executives at New York City's Waldor

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