Consumer advocate Ralph Nader told an audience of about 600 students at the Harvard Business School yesterday that they should go to work for businesses that support consumer as well as business interests.

"I suggest you bring your conscience and your skills to bear at the same time--too many people in the business community have let their consciences stay home," Nader said.

Nader criticized the business school curriculum for ignoring corporate abuses of power. "I doubt that the current corporate crime epidemic is a burning issue at this business school," he said, adding that business professors often ignore consumer-related problems.

"Production isn't good unless it benefits the consumer. The whole purpose of an economy should be the consumer's well-being," Nader said.

Bribery is a way of life in the American business community, Nader said. "You may be about to go to work for criminals. You say they're not criminals all the time, probably. Well, neither are burglars," Nader said.

Nader told the students that they will become "the pillars of the business community. If you're at the top and abusing your power, then what will others do?" Nader asked.

He criticized the concentration of power in large corporations, saying innovation in industry and new job opportunities in the U.S. are created by small businesses.