128 ChaPter 3
not just their individual business. Though most Americans might not be
familiar with the term “trade association,” it is likely that they are well-aware
of them. A trade association is a cooperative group of businessmen who oper-
ate in the same industry [as noted above, it could be automakers, steel mill
owners, railroad operators, cotton farmers, lawyers, doctors... whatever] who
would get together, along with government representatives, to exchange
information and establish programs for production, prices, and markets.
Unlike, say, the modern Tea Party that wants to get the government “out of
the economy,” corporate leaders wanted the government to work with them
to “rationalize” the economy and eliminate destructive competition. Capitalism,
they understood, needed state involvement.
Participation was voluntary, but the biggest companies in each industry
made up the heart of the trade association concept. By sitting down togeth-
er with their competitors and the government [and occasionally discussing
issues with labor], Capitalists could make economic plans for the entire indus-
try, not just their own firm. So, to take a well-known group as an example,
the Chamber of Commerce, begun in 1920, spoke for the entire business com-
munity, eventually internationally, and presented the views of business leaders
[usually the desire for lower taxes, easier trade laws, low wages and so forth]
to their government representatives who, more often than not, created laws to
fit those interests. Founded even earlier, in 1895, the National Association of
Manufacturers represented businesses that manufactured goods—especially big
industries but also smaller companies—and had a pro-business agenda similar
to the Chamber of Commerce. A bit later, in 1933, businessmen in the paper
industry founded the Envelope Manufacturers Association to press the govern-
ment to create policies and laws that would make it easier for them to sell
envelopes and other paper products [and just recently, in 2014, has urged the
government to support the Post Office, and to continue to send letters and to
use envelopes instead of going totally digital]. Today, trade associations like
The Tobacco Institute, the National Rifle Association, the Recording Industry
Association of America, and many others are powerful lobbies for businesses
in their particular fields. They get together and engage in economic planning
and protecting their corporate interests [like taking down “Napster,” the music
file sharing service, in the 1990s] while the government supports and enforc-
es their work. In Hoover’s original development of the trade associations, he
even suspended anti-trust laws, allowed big mergers, accepted “collusion,” or