"Business must be the solution, not the problem"
About this Quote
A Hollywood actor telling business to get its act together lands differently than a CEO mission statement. Dennis Weaver delivered this line with the authority of a public figure who watched postwar corporate America grow from engine of prosperity into a convenient villain for everything from pollution to political corruption. The phrasing is surgical: “must” is moral pressure, not preference. “Solution” versus “problem” sets up a simple binary that feels almost too clean, which is exactly why it works. It dares business to live up to its own self-mythology - innovation, efficiency, progress - while acknowledging the suspicion that it’s been failing the social contract.
The subtext is a plea for legitimacy through responsibility. Weaver isn’t arguing against capitalism; he’s arguing against alibis. If business insists it’s the adult in the room, it can’t behave like an unaccountable teenager. The line also reframes public anger: instead of treating regulation, activism, or government as the sole fixers, it pushes the burden back onto the private sector where the power often sits. It’s an invitation and a warning: you can help write the future, or you can be written into the indictment.
Context matters. Weaver was known for environmental advocacy and civic-minded work beyond acting, part of a late-20th-century wave of celebrity engagement that tried to translate fame into pressure. The quote’s economy mirrors that tactic: short enough for a soundbite, pointed enough to stick, aspirational enough that even the targets can’t easily disagree without confessing guilt.
The subtext is a plea for legitimacy through responsibility. Weaver isn’t arguing against capitalism; he’s arguing against alibis. If business insists it’s the adult in the room, it can’t behave like an unaccountable teenager. The line also reframes public anger: instead of treating regulation, activism, or government as the sole fixers, it pushes the burden back onto the private sector where the power often sits. It’s an invitation and a warning: you can help write the future, or you can be written into the indictment.
Context matters. Weaver was known for environmental advocacy and civic-minded work beyond acting, part of a late-20th-century wave of celebrity engagement that tried to translate fame into pressure. The quote’s economy mirrors that tactic: short enough for a soundbite, pointed enough to stick, aspirational enough that even the targets can’t easily disagree without confessing guilt.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
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