Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" Remains Relevant

The on-line version of The Wall Street Journal recently posed a question for readers: should startup technology companies in the U.S. be open to financing by Chinese venture capital?

Those responding must follow WSJ civility guidelines and identify themselves.  The paper then publishes a few answers soon after a question has been posed.


 

In response to the question above, a reader identified as Martin M. Doerr, of the state of Missouri, had the following to say: "Usually my default reaction to more government regulation is, 'No thanks.' In this case, the startup entrepreneur has a form of game-theory decision that would make John Nash smile: Should I take money from an investor I can’t trust—but which might help me make a personal fortune—at the risk of intellectually enriching a foreign government the nation can’t trust, knowing this risk is borne by the whole country, not just me? Should we allow every entrepreneur to make this decision on their own? Or would more government regulation unnecessarily stifle creativity and innovation beyond any possible benefit? I would hope that our regulators can strike a balance here, making it difficult—but not impossible—to tap into the Chinese investment market."

What interested me most in Doerr's response was the following: "Should I take money from an investor I can’t trust—but which might help me make a personal fortune—at the risk of intellectually enriching a foreign government the nation can’t trust, knowing this risk is borne by the whole country, not just me?"  That's because it is related to the issue in question in Arthur Miller's first big suceess, the play "All My Sons," an excellent revival of which I recently saw on Broadway.

The play, set in 1947, is about a businessman whose company manufactured parts for the military, at considerable profit, during World War II. His oldest son, a military pilot, didn't return from the war, but his death was never confirmed and his mother is convinced he is still alive.

At one point during the war, the company manufactured defective aircraft engine cylinder heads that ended up killing 21 other pilots. While the businessman's partner got the blame and was jailed, it turned out the businessman himself knew what was happening, but thought if he stopped the shipment, the military would cease doing business with him and his company would fail.  The fortunes of his family should come first, the businessman argues.

This is closely related to the question Doerr is raising -- should an entrepreneur put the possibility of making "a personal fortune" above the possibility of compromising the entire country?

The Roundabout Theater's, revival of "All My Sons," featuring Annette Bening as the mother and Tracy Letts as the businessman, was a powerful production that a served to remind one of the timeless nature of issue Miller sought to illuminate.