Speaker: Contemporary business firms need to recognize that avoiding social responsibility leads to the
gradual erosion of power this is Davis and Blomstrom’s Iron Law of Responsibility: “In the long run, those
who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it. “ The law’s
application to human institutions certainly stands confirmed by history. Though the “long run” may require
decades or even centuries in some instances, society ultimately acts to reduce power when society thinks it
is not being used responsibly. Therefore, a business that wishes to retain its power as long as it can must act
responsibly.
Which one of the following statements, if true, most weakens the speaker’s argument?
(A) Government institutions are as subject to the Iron Law of Responsibility as business institutions.
(B) Public relations programs can cause society to consider an institution socially responsible even when it is
not.
(C) The power of some institutions erodes more slowly than the power of others, whether they are socially
responsible or not.
(D) Since no institution is eternal, every business will eventually fail.
(E) Some businesses that have used power in socially responsible ways have lost it.
提干推理是：those who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it〉a business that wishes to retain its power as long as it can must act responsibly
